Mind and Heart
by AliasEM
Summary: Season 4, Vaughn and Sydney's relationship is still in the air even after the chaos of last year. Jack still doubts that Vaughn will ever be good enough for his daughter, but see's him in a new light after Sydney is put out of action on a mission that backfires. Sydney has to work alongside Sloane yet again but this time her boyfriend's reputation also holds in the balance.
1. Moving on

**_Moving on_**

Sydney carefully unpacked the groceries, making sure everything was put perfectly exactly where it should be. She opened the fridge and smiled as she saw the small box of chocolates hidden in the bottom draw. The sticky note attached was starting to change colour but the writing was still clear,

 _Hope you feel better soon, V x_

He'd given her it last week when she came down with an unpleasant cold, nothing Sydney couldn't handle but it did elicit a stern warning from her father to stay in bed for a few days; which she had enjoyed immensely. The old swing of waiting around for a new mission and going into work to type reports against the heat was back underway however. She'd spent the last couple of days doing nothing but paperwork whilst sweltering in the LA summer, still downing cups after cups of coffee. Vaughn had been away on a long mission for the past week and the last she'd seen of him was when he left the chocolates and gave her a kiss goodbye. She hated it when she was all alone in this big beautiful house Weiss had bought her, and she was still fluttering from the new found attention Vaughn was giving to her now, they'd established they wanted to give it another go.

It had been about fifteen months since Lauren's death, Vaughn and Sydney hadn't spoken the entire year after and had been thrown with each other once more at APO. At first it was rather awkward and Sydney felt anger towards him but along with that age old need to pull him into her arms and tell him everything was going to be ok. She was well aware of how tough it had been on Vaughn - to find out his wife was a joke and having to shoot her down. Sydney had started to finally understand Vaughn's decisions that year; he'd told her he needed someone to be there for him, and she'd believed him. Weiss had continued to give her detailed information on what was happening with him and how he was coping. She was shocked to find he'd burnt down his home, but at the same time was glad it didn't exist anymore; Lauren had truly gone.

Weiss had told her of how Vaughn's terrible drinking habit had been reintroduced and how he'd barely left his apartment since that day. Sydney wasn't stupid, she allowed him space to grieve as she didn't think she could cope seeing him sad because of her.

Vaughn of course, had also asked Weiss on Sydney updates too. With Weiss showering Vaughn with the news of Sydney's pain from Vaughn's distance.

Vaughn had got himself together and was determined to throw himself into his work, get back into being the agent he was before the mess of last year. He was still shaken by his stupidity of letting Lauren into his life so easily; he'd accepted her company at first because he knew he couldn't spend the rest of his life in the shadows of Sydney's death.

It was more of a surprise when Lauren had first shown an interest in him. She'd shown up after seeing him look pitiful at a bar far away from home, and she'd helped him put his jacket on and get back to his apartment. Vaughn didn't even register her existence until he saw her standing in front of his door three days later.

" _Hi, again. I thought you might want some company?" she said with a hopeful gaze in her eyes, her accent blazing through. He was still pretty drunk and wearing a shirt he'd slept in the past several days. But still, she'd made the effort to find his house again but more importantly, she was holding a bottle._

 _"_ _You'd better come in." He'd replied, not really sure if this was a good idea. She spent a good five minutes with her nose up at the state of his apartment, Vaughn didn't think he needed to bother responding; seeing a woman back at his house made him feel more uneasy than usual. There was still several photos of himself and Sydney, her smile always managed to radiate the room. But after a good solid hour, Lauren had tidied his flat and managed to make him several cups of coffee and water refills whilst Vaughn continued to sit there staring at the blank TV screen. Lauren slowly sat beside him and placed a hand to his knee which he gave a flinch in response._

 _"_ _You must have really loved her". This made him cross, she didn't even know the half of it, and she had no clue how hard it was for him to see anything other than Sydney's face every minute of every day. Yet she had the audacity to come here alone and think she could 'fix' his life for him._

 _He got up and clenched his fist,_

 _"_ _Look, I don't need your help, I have my own plans" He started,_

 _"_ _Plans?! Of getting drunk continuously day after day and sitting in a pool of sweat thinking about someone who isn't here anymore, you have to let her go!"_

 _That was it, she'd stepped the mark. But Vaughn refrained from an explosion of anger on the blonde, after all, he barely knew her; couldn't even remember her name. Instead, he sat back down and gently told her he was grateful for her help but that she kindly leave. Lauren smiled gently and unbuttoned his shirt._

 _Vaughn froze. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. She removed his shirt and in the small moment of folding it on her lap, Vaughn began to sweat and shiver at the same time. He was nervous but he didn't quite know why. He wasn't looking for another woman, not now, not ever. But he longed so much for Sydney's warmth again, Lauren stood up and walked away returning with one of his clean shirts whilst he sat there running through countless possibilities at once,_

 _"_ _Here, you could at least avoid smelling like an alcoholic who sleeps on his couch whilst I'm here"._

 _The gesture was a mere concern for his wellbeing. He felt flushed at her kindness and wondered if perhaps, this was safe. That Lauren was just that bit of help he needed to pick himself back up…_

He still shuddered at the memory. When he felt he'd found a genuine caring person while he was down. He remembered how she'd 'dropped by' nearly every day after that and always cleaned and cooked and chatted but nothing more, till that one day.

When she'd first made a move and caressed his cheek, even then he felt he was cheating on Sydney. But there was always something missing, when he'd first slept with Lauren all he could feel was appreciation of the time and effort she'd devoted to him, not any flicker of romance between them. She was a mere necessity at getting better, not someone he wanted to make love too.

He found however, as the days went on that he did harbour some feelings for her, despite knowing they'd never equate to actual love. He knew when he married her that domestic life was going to be easy with her, it was the loving part he struggled with, but he was numb to the feeling by then. He enjoyed being around her and she was very kind to him, but he still felt nothing when she kissed him other than a tiny flutter of reassurance that he wouldn't go off the rails again. He appreciated that she was indeed a good wife but he never saw the same passion in Lauren that he did with her.

Once Sydney had come back, he had dreamed many nights of being with her again. He'd had to take sleeping medication to drown them out. He loved Lauren, but he was _in love_ with Sydney. Each day he felt the pain as he tried to remain civilised around her whilst so desperately wanting to tell her how he was still in love with her and that he knew he'd never feel the same about anyone else.

He'd only recently allowed himself the excitement of his chance to get back with his soul mate. They'd been on a mission to which he had to save her from falling out of a moving train, seeing her helpless like that had only made him feel worse and pine for her even more. But he'd seen the look in her eyes and knew after they had spent the night together, that she wasn't gone from his grasp just yet.

But for now, the best he could do was let Sydney decide if she could forgive him for the last year and hope that she still felt some amount of love for him.


	2. Judgements to make and disbelieve

**Judgements to make and disbelieve**

Sydney jumped as she heard a knock on the door, she pulled her head from the inside of a cupboard and walked up to the door to be greeted by her father. Jack looked a little rough with a cripple or two on his black jacket.

"Sydney, can I talk?" He asked shyly, it was unlike him to act so quiet and timid around her. She could tell something was up, especially when he didn't stop to hang his jacket.

"Dad, whatever it is, just say it. I'm not in the mood to mess around" She addressed him gently in an attempt to stop him from being as convoluted with his news, as he usually was when involving something bad. She loved her father, but he'd been a bit of a pain lately trying to warn her to stray away from Vaughn; like he had any idea what she felt for him.

"Well," He began whilst they manoeuvred to the couch, Jack perched on the end.

"- I know work is hard at the moment, working for Sloane. But I'm going to have to ask you a big favour…" He monitored her face the entire time to analyse every flinch or expression she expressed. Sydney did indeed flinch at Sloane's name as the vile memory of the man that filled her with so much disgust circled her mind.

"Try me". She smiled cheekily to try and ease her father's obvious discomfort, but with no such luck. He stood up and slowly paced back and forth with his hands clasped. He looked to be calculating something, but Sydney still had no idea what request of her could make the grand 'Jack Bristow' this nervous.

Suddenly, the door opened and Vaughn peered around it with a gentle smile. Sydney felt a sigh of release at the sight of his beautiful calmness and the thin layer of stubble arising on his chin. Jack froze his pacing and gave an executive glance Sydney's way who quickly jumped up and rushed to the door before Vaughn could fully enter.

"Hi, sorry, my dad's here can it wait?" She whispered to him whilst leaning against the door frame wearing a smile that she tried to suppress. Vaughn simply replied with his own warm smile and gently brushed her arm with his thumb,

"Of course Syd," to which he started making his way back to his car, Sydney had seen the slight look of hurt in his eyes. He'd just come back from probably a horrid mission in Bangladesh and she'd dismissed him before he'd even made it through the door.

As she turned back into her open living room her father had moved in line with her with his arms rested over one another and a disappointed look slapped on his face. Sydney knew he didn't approve of Vaughn once again, he was overprotective of her which equally made it a challenge for any man to get close. It was clear he hadn't approved of Vaughn's latest adventures with Lauren. Now making him less than suitable for his dear daughter.

"Sorry, you were saying?" She tried to usher the conversation on, eager to call Vaughn back. Yet Jack swiftly made his way past Sydney to the door, simply stating;

"I'll find you tomorrow morning, you should get some sleep first."

 _Well, thank you for that long ramble to nothing, dad_.

She wasn't sure if Vaughn had put him off or he'd just decided now wasn't the right time.

Her questioning was confirmed however by the phone call she received soon after.

" _Hello?"_ She answered,

" _Your dad just decided to warn me not to go near you, is everything ok?"_ Vaughn's voice filled the phone. He sounded hurt, with anger in his voice making its way through the phone.

Sydney was surprised, yet she'd more or less expected this since the beginning of APO. Jack was still very mad at Vaughn's actions but everyone could see it was mainly down to the way it reflected so clearly what Jack had suffered with Irina. He'd been mad at Vaughn for falling for it but also for not getting rid of her sooner because Jack of all people knew that the longer it went on, the more it hurt. Sydney was fairly confident Jack would let it go after a while, but she dreaded to think how long it would take before he'd even accept her being involved with him, let alone approve of it.

" _I'm sorry Vaughn, he's just… Well, he's still mad I guess. It's gonna take some time before he's, you know; ready."_

 _"_ _For what? Us? Or should I start looking for a new job vacancy..."_ He replied with the anger increasing, but a fresher air of humour starting to make its way through.

Sydney wasn't really prepared for this conversation. She'd assumed that Vaughn would understand but she'd forgotten it seemed only her who could understand her father's way of thinking, and that was only at the best of times.

" _He sees last year as one big mistake Vaughn, and you're the one he's blaming it on. I tried to tell him, I really did but he refuses to see how hard it was… For everyone. He's a stubborn man who won't accept the faults people make."_

 _Had I said the right thing?_ She wondered.

Vaughn's silence was as loud as an earthquake, as Sydney lay on her couch, gripping the phone for his response.

" _It was my fault Sydney."_ He stated, not a question or something to be countered, just an outright truth. Sydney debated whether to argue, but she already knew he wouldn't accept a word. That's why they were so alike, always trying to please others, even when it meant taking the blame for everyone.

" _Goodnight Syd."_ He murmured blissfully through the pause, then hung up before

Sydney had the chance to reply.


	3. Discomfort

**Discomfort**

The next morning Sydney's phone buzzed on her bedside table as she laid spread out on her chest with her head buried in her pillow. Her hand reached up and silenced the phone only to be followed by an annoying voicemail message of her dad's monotone orders,

" _Sydney, I need to speak with you soon. Can you please make it in for 9:30, and bring an overnight bag."_ He ordered, as charming as ever.

She slowly collapsed out of bed and ran her fingers through her hair whilst pouring her first cup of coffee as yet another phone call begged for attention.

" _What?!"_ She snapped at her mobile, she knew her dad would be mad but thankfully, Vaughn's voice replied.

" _Whoa Syd, what's up? I'm just calling to tell you to put that coffee down and get dressed_ " He chuckled to himself knowing full well she was wondering how he knew she was holding her coffee mug and still in Pj's.

" _You spying on me Mr Vaughn?"_ She knew he could hear the slight excitement in her voice.

She hung up and quickly got dressed curious as to why she seemed so popular today. Moments later, sure enough, Vaughn walked through the door with a brand new, navy blue suit and a bag that must only have America's finest doughnuts inside.

She practically beamed at his presence. He put the bag on the counter and she went in for a long soothing hug. They both shared a moment of comfort between them and embraced the silence that more or less said it all.

" _How was Bangladesh?"_ She questioned, pulling out of the hug but remaining close to his warm body.

His eyes enjoyed taking in her beautiful face whilst he felt her radiating existence. He was the happiest man when she was with him, he didn't want any moment between them to end.

As for Bangladesh, well apart from a whack to the face it went reasonably uneventful so he decided to spare her the details and continue not feeling guilty for being around the love of his life. Except Vaughn knew that Jack wasn't going to make his reunion with Sydney easy, he was past letting other people run his love life.

" _An absolute bore, so instead of standing here smelling those gorgeous doughnuts; how's about we get stuck in? And no arguments, I'm taking you to work"_ He grinned, with a confidence in his voice.

Sydney was worried he was underestimating her father's disapproval but if he was prepared to put up a fight, she was more than prepared to support him.

Vaughn slowly lowered his head towards hers and cupped her cheek in his soft palms. He pressed his lips against her upper lip and lingered to taste her sweet taste.

She knew she was supposed to be 'taking it slow' and showing him she'd been hurt this past year, but feeling his smooth lips against hers made her forgive him almost instantly. She lifted her hand and stroked his shoulder whilst he slowly departed from her lip and lingered before her, both hung in the moment.

Vaughn respected her need to forgive him fully before starting anything serious, but he could feel her need for him, begging him to continue. Still, he drew himself away and grabbed the bag before he lead the brunette out the house and into his shining black car.


	4. Mission briefing

**AN:** Some swearing in this chapter (and some future ones). Only a few words here and there.

 **Mission briefing**

APO was their new place of work, a black ops division that had no apparent affiliation with the CIA so basically did what the CIA didn't want to admit doing, but necessary to save their country. Sydney and Vaughn silently walked through the train station to the old door and made their way into the shiny white and blue offices. They were greeted by Jack's brisk walk towards them and his formal glare.

" _Meeting in Sloane's office now"_ He addressed them in his usual work tone, but seemed anxious underneath his cool exterior.

Sydney physically flinched when she entered Sloane's office, she still wasn't sure she would ever get over seeing that man stood before her in a place of power again. Arvin Sloane had killed her fiancé and had many dealings with horrific people in the past. Sydney couldn't possibly despise this man more, she could feel her blood boil when he gave her a slight smile to welcome her back after her little time off last week. _Bet you loved me out of the way you son of a bitch_.

Jack stood close to Sloane with his arms crossed and Dixon and Nadia sat together on one of the red sofas in the office, the biggest one in the whole building no doubt. Weiss slipped in just before Sloane began to speak, Sydney and Vaughn followed his lead and sat together on the other red sofa.

" _Are we all done? Are we all quite finished?"_ Sloane stunned the room with his dominance, his voice demanding attention from each and every one of them. He was clearly teething with the stress of some unknown situation they would soon be asked to put right.

Nadia hadn't known Sloane long, but he was her biological father so despite his horrific past Sydney had informed her about; Nadia was trying to see Sloane for the father she hoped he could be. Sydney was more than a little angered by Nadia's tolerance of him sometimes, but she could relate to her attempts after seeing their mother, Irina Derevco for the bad person she was yet still waiting for the caring mother she hoped to see.

Marshall entered the room slowly with a look of sheer terror in his eyes, Marshall was all too aware of Sloane's evil past and was now equally terrified of the man. Sloane waited a small moment whilst he was sure everyone in the room was now paying full attention before beginning his briefing.

He clicked a small remote in his hand and a large screen behind him showed a logo for a bank company, ' _Downtown savings'_ it read with a seal holding a bulky pile of dollar bills. Marshall laughed briefly at the logo then nodded his apologies to Sloane.

" _This company is as it appears to be, a bank. But thankfully Downtown savings also provided very helpful intel to the CIA last year which saved the life of a fellow agent,"_ He pressed the remote again and the picture of an exploding building appeared on the screen.

" _Agent Bison was trying to shut down Downtown saving's security to locate a safe there belonging to a known criminal. The manager however, upon finding agent Bison within the safe unauthorised, chose to tell him about a bomb the criminal had set up there earlier, allowing agent Bison to escape before the blast. They then continued to co-operate with us._

 _-Thanks to them we found the criminal along with the contents of his safe, which included blue prints to several CIA headquarters, to which they no longer possess."_

Pressing the remote yet again, the logo of a second bank company appeared. 'GEO省錢' written in big red letters surrounded by the Chinese flag and an elephant in the background.

Sloane handed Jack some folders who then proceeded to hand them to everyone in the room. Marshall stood up with an anxious look towards Sloane who gave his nod of approval, leaning back against his desk.

" _Ok, so err, basically this is a pretty big bank"_ Marshall began, nodding enthusiastically with an impressed, sweaty look on his face.

" _They hold nearly 78% of China's accounts and claim to have the highest security of_ _ **any**_ _bank"_ He waved his hands around as he spoke, clearly secretly enjoying his turn to address an audience, yet still his usual quivering self. Marshal swallowed and clicked his remote to show a Chinese man wearing a blue pin striped suit,

" _Now, this man here is the boss, I mean, you can tell right? Like, his suit must have cost like what, seven bi-"_

Marshall was interrupted by Sloane giving a slight cough. Sydney smiled at Marshall's tendency to go off topic. She always admired Marshall's ability to cheer up a bad mood with his ramblings of just about anything.

Nadia looked over at Sydney and gave a small smile, but Sydney was concerned by the trouble in her sister's eyes.

Marshall continued,

" _Well, this guy is Falco Min-Yung. Now Falco is the guy who sent some rouge agents to steal $50,000 from, you guessed it – Downtown Savings, so erm, I guess we got to go and kick their asses now"_ Laughing to himself as he rounded up his bizarre little speech and sat down sheepishly on the arm next to Dixon.

Dixon studied the photo of Falco on the screen which was noticed by Sloane,

" _You know this man Dixon?"_ It wasn't really a question, Sloane knew that Dixon had dealt with Falco in the past. It was another way of his to appear in complete control. Sydney felt Dixon's slight flicker as he stood recalling his time at SD-6, when he dealt with Falco.

" _I was sent to retrieve a document detailing the various bank accounts of certain members from a violent group in Mexico. The mission was unfortunately not successful, however we did manage to infiltrate the group at a later date. Falco seemed a very ambitious man, perhaps too ambitious."_ He glared at Sloane then as he added, " _all of course, during my days at SD-6."_ He then gracefully sat back down and gave a quick glance Sydney's way.

They'd worked together at SD-6 when Sloane was the cold hearted Director who had fooled most of the workers into thinking they were working for the CIA.

Sloane stood and regained his lead, " _The group was a lie."_ He stated. Dixon tried to avoid physically punching the sofa, instead he made do with biting his lower lip, hard.

Sloane paced slowly, in front of his so called 'team'.

" _You were actually discovering accounts of alliance members, whom lived in China at cells SD-4. But that's not relevant in this mission."_

Sydney clenched her fists,

 _'_ _Not relevant', you bastard. I wonder when you deceiving us for years about your membership at the alliance_ _ **will**_ _be relevant._ She thought bitterly whilst resisting the urge to spit at him.

The screen changed to a blank screen, showing that this mission wasn't going to be a long one.

" _Downtown Savings have asked us to retrieve the money stolen from them by GEO_ _省錢_ _,_ _in return, they're willing to give us access to five vaults within their facility belonging to enemies of the United States. This is a big deal for national security. The mission should be simple and over with quickly. Jack, if you may"._

He signalled Jack to take the floor as he sat behind his desk with his hands clasped, an expression of pride on his face.

Jack, gave a worried look Sydney's way then proceeded to pull up blueprints on four different screens behind him this time.

" _GEO_ _省錢_ _have an annual meeting with a number of small American businesses and reward one with the opportunity to invest with them. This year, the meeting will take place tomorrow, midday."_ He used a red laser pen to circle a part of the blueprints,

" _The meeting will take place here, where Sydney and Sloane will be convincing Falco to invest in them-"_

The moment he had said Sloane's name, Sydney froze. She was just getting used to the idea of working in the same _room_ as the wicked man, she was not prepared to work in the field with him.

She interrupted her father before he could continue relaying a mission that by her books, was not happening.

"- _Excuse me?"_ She spat out, standing up to her father's level.

" _You want me and_ _ **Sloane**_ _to convince them? Dad, me and Sloane?"_ She was trying to be polite to not show the man how offended by the idea she was, she knew full well, the request was most likely from Sloane himself.

Jack sighed, this was what he'd tried to communicate to her earlier and now Sydney knew why he'd been looking so anxious at her recently.

" _Sydney, the mission has already been planned out, you're the best agent we can think of for persuading Falco-"_

She listened, but knew by his tone that there was still some hope of him changing his mind. Sloane remained behind his desk, probably enjoying the anger he'd stirred within her.

" _Dad,"_ was all she said accompanying a stern look to her father that she knew could speak to him more than words.

Jack looked back at Sloane, who had a small smirk plastered on his ignorant face.

Vaughn gently tugged Sydney's sleeve and whispered,

" _Syd, don't do this."_

Vaughn knew Sloane was a bad man, but he hadn't seen what Sydney had seen, or Dixon, or Marshall. Vaughn didn't have that connection to Sloane that Sydney had which she'd tried many times to sever. He still however, saw her as a second daughter, a woman he was proud of. The thought made Sydney sick to her stomach.

Sydney took a shallow breath and slowly sat back down, she didn't want to stir things up right now, but this wasn't over with.

Sloane gave a slight cough that deafened the room, it was his way of showing that he'd won the argument.

Jack slipped back into his cool exterior and began detailing the mission.

" _Whilst Sydney and Sloane are in the meeting, they'll be picking up audio feed from Falco. We'll use the feed to gain his voice so Vaughn can open up security to transfer the money."_

Jack flicked off the screen, he was getting impatient.

" _Vaughn, you'll hack into their servers using the recording to get in and help from Dixon off site. Sydney will make an excuse to leave for a moment then hand you the recording. You will then locate the accounts the stolen money was contributed too._

 _Vaughn will give Dixon, whom will be located nearby, but not inside the building, access to the separate server so Dixon can transfer the money. "_

Jack silently scanned the room for any misunderstanding, noting Sydney's look of a school child whose just been scolded. He knew this was demanding a lot from her.

At Jack's nod of approval, everyone quietly left Sloane's office, except Sydney.

Sydney stood directly in front of the vulgar little man, separated only by his desk.

She clung to the look of fury in her face.

" _Let me get something clear to you"_ she started, keeping her voice low to inject some authority.

" _If you speak to me on this mission, it is to be about the mission only. If you so much as over step the mark, I will take great pleasure in putting you back in line. Do you understand?"_ She paused.

" ** _Sir"_** she added.

Sloane had maintained a look of surprise and glee on his face. He had enjoyed the way he still managed to make Sydney Bristow feel threatened. But of course, knowing that as talented an agent as she was, she could ruin him just as easily as he could ruin her. He had great respect for the woman in front of him, but hearing her try to appear superior to him riled him somewhat.

He cleared his throat, " _and what exactly is the mark?_ " he questioned, knowing she wasn't quite sure herself.

Sydney turned and slowly left the office, replying just as she passed the door.

" _You'll know"_

 _-because it'll give me an excuse to crack your neck_. She thought.

"It's good to see you back Syd" Marshall smiled, giving her a warm, slightly over the top welcome into his office.

Sydney looked around and noticed that the majority of stuff was compiled of old PlayStation's and kids games consoles. She smiled seeing the large amount of photos of Marshall's baby boy, Mitchell.

Vaughn came into the office and stood next to her, she could feel his concern radiating from his suit.

"It's good to see you again Marshall, how's Mitchell?" She asked. Marshall lit up at the question and immediately gave a fast spoken speech about his sons recent 'puke fest'.

Vaughn gently managed to lightly squeeze Sydney's hand as Marshall talked. Looks like there was no chance she would be able to conceal her anxiety and anger from him.

Marshall wrapped up his speech by pulling a scrunched up face,

"Actually, I still haven't got over that sight..." He said as he stared in the distance recalling the memory.

Sydney and Vaughn quietly chuckled at Marshall's light heartedness. He snapped out of the memory and grabbed a small leather pouch.

"This is your average audio wire, you'll wrap this around you before you enter and it'll pick up the voices in the room." He handed it to Syd and frowned.

"Well, it's not your average wire because, well, I made it" he continued, stumbling a little.

"It won't be detected by security" he told them while a slight blush appeared.

He then retrieved a USB stick and held it up with a proud look of glee on his face,

"Now with this, you simply take the audio recording of the meeting then place it in here and heyyyyy presto" he demonstrated placing a small round device into the usb stick, then connected it to one of his computers.

"Then, once in their computer you just find the snippet of him saying his name,"

He then stood still and cleared his throat,

"George Falco" he said, trying to sound Chinese.

Vaughn and Sydney stood in silence waiting for him to continue.

Marshall searched for any looks of amusement but settled for looking at the floor instead.

"And that's it."

When Sydney left the office, Vaughn grabbed her arm gently and pulled her away from the bustle of people.

"Sydney, are you sure you're feeling up to this?" He questioned her, with those beautiful green eyes.

He knew all about the angst and pain Sloane had brought into Sydney's life, and just when he'd thought he had helped take it away from her; here they were working for the enemy again.

Vaughn knew Sydney wasn't known for keeping a clear head when making decisions on her own wellbeing, he had to be extra vigilant for her when things looked rough.

She looked at him intently for a few moments then clenched her teeth whilst she picked up her bag,

" _I'll see you later"_ she stated, the anger in her voice clear.


	5. Even in her dreams

**AN:** Thanks to everyone that's reading this story :) Don't want to nag so I'll just say it this once - If you can leave a review that would be really helpful and make my day :) Even a couple of words... x

I've actually written a few chapters past this but I think I'll wait to see how it goes on how early to post them.

 **Even within her dreams**

Sydney was sat on her couch looking over the arguments for investing for the mission ahead. They had just about 11 hours before they were set to take off.

The door opened and Weiss came strolling in,

 _"_ _Hey Syd, want to get drunk out of our wits again?"_

After the last couple of years Weiss was now, according to him; Sydney's official drinking partner. He'd tried to cheer her up on numerous occasions, often resulting in the pair falling asleep with not much of a clue as to what had happened.

 _"_ _I'm sorry Weiss, need to be focused for this horrid mission, but if I'm honest, I think I'll need it once we get back"._ She replied, whilst still keeping her eyes on the papers.

Weiss shrugged and grabbed a bottle of something from the cupboard,

 _"_ _More for me then"_ he chuckled. _"But why exactly is this mission horrid?"_

Weiss was allocated as Dixon's partner in case someone managed to uncover their security van. Although, he did take his job seriously, Weiss was often partial to a 'good luck drink' before the flight.

Sydney realised she'd been staring at the pages instead of answering Weiss, which explained why he'd suddenly appeared on the sofa opposite.

" _Syd_?" he now shared that old familiar concerned look that everyone seemed to be giving her lately.

 _"_ _It's nothing"_ She snapped whilst slamming the folder shut and placing it on the kitchen counter. She was fed up with the way everyone else seemed to be able to look past this craziness, Sydney had been asked to not only work for Sloane, but now she was supposed to work _alongside_ him?

Sydney paused for a moment and sighed.

" _Sorry, let's just say I'm not particularly looking forward to this one."_ She told him.

Later on, the sky had darkened and the streetlamps illuminated. Sydney had decided to watch some trashy TV before getting a few hours' sleep before take-off.

She was wrapped up in a soft blanket just about to dose off when she heard the floor creek ever so quietly.

She jumped up immediately with arms ready to fight. One thing you had to have to be a skilled CIA agent, was defiantly alertness to unexpected situations.

But what Sydney expected was far from what she saw. She relaxed instantly as she saw Vaughn stood in the middle of the room holding two take out coffee cups.

He smiled, amused at her defensive position, then walked over to her and handed her a cup. " _I have a key, remember"_ he smirked, always delighted by the fact he had a key to Sydney's house.

She'd given it him a few weeks ago, since then they'd been basically living together but with Nadia staying here they agreed it'd be best to withhold fully moving in for a short while.

" _Where's Nadia?"_ he asked whilst sitting down on the couch next to her.

" _She went out with Weiss a while back, think she's planning on staying with him until it's time to go"_ She looked at Vaughn suggestively. It'd been a while since they'd had the house to themselves.

Vaughn slowly took her coffee cup from her hands and placed it on the coffee table. He cupped her face with both hands and leaned in. They shared a long passionate kiss, forgetting the difficult mission ahead.

After a few hours of love making the couple had resorted to sneaking in some sleep before the long flight to china. But a few moments after falling asleep, the cries of a woman filled the bedroom.

Vaughn jolted awake by her side and saw she was thrashing around the bed with her eyes firmly shut. He was aware of her nightmares from last year after the missing years she'd lost, but he never thought for a moment that they could possibly still haunt her.

" _Sydney, Sydney! Wake up! Please wake up darling"_ He tried, gently rocking her shoulders, trying to stop her from falling away from him.

She was sweating from her brows and her head was ghastly warm. Vaughn didn't know what to do, he'd never seen her like this.

He jumped out of bed, put on a shirt and shorts and ran into the kitchen. When he came back with a wet flannel, Sydney's cries had turned to screams and she was clutching that dammed scar on her abdomen.

As soon as he placed the flannel on her head, she hissed and turned away. What on earth could be causing her so much torment?

He was desperately trying to calm her down, but she was still incredibly hot to the touch and her eyes showed no sign of opening.

Suddenly, Nadia ran into the room holding another wet cloth. She gave Vaughn a look of sympathy then without saying a word, she went over to Sydney and started whispering things in her ear. After a few seconds, it appeared to be working. Sydney had stopped moving around so much and her cries had lessoned.

Vaughn was confused, he'd been struggling to calm her down for ages yet a few whispered words from Nadia and she was waking up.

Her eyes opened and she slowly sat up. Vaughn sat next to her and tried not to look too concerned, as he knew she hated that.

Sydney suddenly bolted from the bed and ran to the window,

" _What's happening?!"_ She shouted, seemingly at no one.

" _Sydney?"_ She looked confused and disorientated, it must have been one hell of a dream. Nadia took a couple steps closer to her, but in a sudden rush of panic, she jolted backwards, falling and banging her head on the window sill.

Vaughn and Nadia rushed to her side. She looked up, sitting on the floor and her face said she now knew what had happened.

" _How embarrassing…"_ she quietly mumbled whilst looking down again at the floor. Nadia tapped Vaughn on the shoulder then left the room.

" _Sydney, are you ok? That must have been such a horrid dream. Its ok now, you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you ever again, I promise."_

He was extra protective of Sydney since they'd got back together, he couldn't bare losing her again. But this time, Vaughn felt the painful guilt that he'd caused some of that distress.

Sydney looked up at him with a look of disappointment on her own part.

" _I'm so sorry Vaughn, I didn't want you to see that. It won't happen again"_ She knew as soon as she said it that he'd be mad, but she didn't know what else to say.

Vaughn considered letting her comment go unjudged, but for now he knew he had to say something.

" _Don't you ever apologise Sydney. Not to me."_ He said sternly.

He wanted to shout at her for treating her pain like it was 'nothing', and dismissing the fact she just suffered a long nightmare. But he saw the sadness in her eyes and knew now wasn't the time.

Everyone knew Sydney's way of coping was to hide her upset from the people she cared about.

" _Come on, let's get ready for China"._

[Cue Chinese music]

There was no time for sleep on the plane ride. Sydney had to endure a 'rehearsal' as to the investment pitch with Sloane.

Vaughn was learning the inside security specs, with help from Dixon. Weiss had decided he would play the role of _George Falco,_ the investor.

He criticised Sydney's half-hearted attempt at a pitch,

 _"_ _Nope, not good enough. I think your crummy American company should go elsewhere"_.

He was being particularly stubborn with their performance. Sydney gave him a glare as she didn't want to go through this a fourth time. Weiss glanced over at Sloane whose glare was particularly more intensified.

"ok, ok. You win aha" He amended nervously


	6. On trial with the devil

**AN:** Couple of swear words again, nothing major.

 **On** **trial with the devil**

Sydney knew she could get through this ridiculous ordeal, but that couldn't keep the ball of nerves from stabbing in her stomach.

She was more than capable of doing her job the majority of the time. Sometimes she'd had to work harder to get the job done and sometimes, she had let her emotions get ahead of her.

Being a highly skilled agent was not something that remained constant without having to outstep your comfort zone every once in a while. Sydney knew that, but she was so desperate to just have some time alone to figure things out.

Was she doing the right thing letting Vaughn back into her life like that? Is her father right to be dubious of him?

She couldn't get rid of Jack's look as Vaughn had entered her home the other night. Maybe it's time she sat them down and tried to straighten this out.

After she had stood beside Sloane trying to convince a bunch of criminals that he was worth their time, of course.

Dixon and Weiss were sat firmly in the security van, scanning surveillance of the bank and keeping communication with Sydney, Sloane and Vaughn once they were inside the building.

Vaughn was to enter as someone wanting to open a simple account there. Jack was to be questioning a member of staff on their security features in case we'd missed anything and so he'd be in close proximity in case of emergency.

All very cosy, Sydney thought. She was used to working with a team, yet most the time they were way out of sight.

Sloane was dressed as himself, of course seeing as Falco apparently knew him. Sydney went for natural look, with her hair let down but styled to look thicker with more volume. She had a bold lipstick but chose an outfit that made her appeal as more of a financial nerd.

She wore a white blouse with a soft black cardigan, buttoned up. Her legs were covered with black tights and she wore a short but professional plain white skirt. Her heels, bright red to match her lipstick.

As she walked up to the building, she immediately felt as something was wrong. She scanned the front but didn't see any obvious threat.

 _"_ _Sydney dear, why don't you take me arm? We are colleagues after all. Don't want them getting the wrong impression._ _ **Dear.**_ _"_

Oh great, so that's how it was going to go. Sydney resisted to urge to take his arm and yank it to the floor and instead decided to smile at him and place her hand ever so gently on his arm.

 _I am not playing your game you devious son of a bitch._

But something was wrong.

As they went to enter the front door a member of staff approached them instantly.

She wore a dark blue outfit with a bright turquoise scarf with the company's logo on. She pulled them aside, smiling all the time.

 _"_ _You're here for the investment event?"_ She asked quietly, to which Sloane bowed his head.

She took a small box from her bag and opened it to reveal two small needles.

 _"_ _I'll need to give you these, our tracking methods may seem a little traditional but I can assure you it's a lot harder for people to get past these."_

Oh yes. _A lot harder._

Sydney gave Sloane a glance to see his reaction. Cold and calm as usual.

He took one needle and injected himself there and then.

 _Well that's that then._

Sydney did the same.

The lady told them to wait a moment by some chairs then went to a different room. As she walked away Sydney immediately heard her father's voice in her ear.

 _"_ _What in earth was that? That wasn't in our information."_ He sounded worried but due to now being in the building foyer surrounded by people, he couldn't afford to cause a scene.

Sydney walked towards a corner to conceal her mouth and pretended to look through her bag as she spoke back to them,

 _"_ _It was just a biological tracker."_ But even as she said it, she was trying to think of ways the mission could still actually carry on now that their locations were tracked. How could she sneak off to give Vaughn the recording when they could see her every move?

The whole team was racking their brains to find a way how. Jack was just about to speak as Vaughn's voice suddenly filled everyone's coms,

 _"_ _I'm in one of their private rooms now, If Phoenix excuses herself to the restroom, I could pass her and no one would be suspicious."_ He suggested. A small smile appearing on Sydney's face knowing that however simple an idea it was, Vaughn had managed to keep the team together, yet again.

 _"_ _Ok."_ Was the one word Jack managed to get out. He was deeply furious that Vaughn had piped up when his own suggestion was to be most similar.

The staff member came back and led Sydney and Sloane, along with the other groups for the event, to a private room. Luckily the ladies restroom was in clear view just further down the corridor.

Vaughn had been fake smiling and talking crap for long enough. Nearly half an hour had gone by and according to the voices in his ear, Sydney and Sloane had only just started their pitch. He had smiled a couple of times as some of Sydney's fantastic persuasive remarks. She was so good at getting people to trust her.

The banker he was with did not speak good English so Vaughn was using that to try and keep this meeting going, but time was quickly running out.

Sydney finished off her first argument which gained a small round of applause.

Sloane's turn.

 _"_ _I shall begin with a thank you"_ he started,

 _"_ _To my beautiful assistant whom without, I could not be here with you all today"._

Oh my. He's going to make sure he makes the most of this,

He placed a hand on Sydney's shoulder and firmly squeezed. He knew that she despised any contact with him.

 _Well, if that's how you want to play it._

To Sloane's surprise, Sydney laughed; loudly.

Sloane continued.

Jack was becoming impatient also. Vaughn's remark still playing in his head. But he knew what really angered him. He had been right there, about to go into Sydney's house. That image of Vaughn so confidently letting himself into his daughter's house made his blood boil.

Was he living there now? He knew they were seeing each other again but who was he to speculate anything more.

 _I must speak to him, put things straight._ He concluded in his mind.

It had been nearly two hours when Vaughn finally left the room and managed to sneak into the main computer facility. Time was being thrown away. He was setting up the transfer with Dixon's help from his technology in the fan, not being able to actually do much without that recording of Falco.

It had been a lengthy presentation in itself, but the questions had kept flooding in afterwards; these people were strict.

Sydney had started to feel really warm in the last thirty minutes. A couple of people there had asked if she was ok. The truth was, she was beginning to think she wasn't.

Maybe all this stress about the asshole stood next to her had finally come to bite her?

Come to think of it, she'd been scratching her arm, unaware for the past half hour. Whilst Sloane was answering some question from a beady eyed intern, she pulled up her cardigan sleeve and saw the large red rash that had appeared.

Right where the injection had been.

Her first thought was whether the tracker would work correctly. But she knew she should probably be a little concerned with her health.

Suddenly, she felt very light headed and had to grab a nearby absent chair to save herself from falling over.

The whole room had stopped to stare in concern.

 _"_ _Excuse me, I need to use the restroom"_ Was what came spitting out of her mouth.

It was too soon. _Too soon,_ she played in her mind. Maybe there was a chance his name was in this USB stick somewhere.

She wondered towards to restroom.

Vaughn had been admiring the high tech computers when Sydney burst through the door and nearly fell straight down.

 _"_ _Sydney!"_ He whispered harshly.

Rushing over to her he caught her in his arms as she had chance to speak,

 _"_ _This isn't… the restroom."_ She looked at him confused, then,

 _"_ _I think… I think I've had a reaction…tracker thing…"_ She quietly made out before falling unconscious in his arms.


	7. Troubled Waters

**AN: So I realise that the transitioning from different points of view may have been a little confusing. Hopefully you've kept up with the story so far. I've tried to make it more obvious when changing point of view, but sometimes it's hard when it's so clear in my mind when I'm writing it aha. I apologise for any mistakes, once I've finished the whole thing I will try and correct them all and reupload.**

 **Thanks for reading :)**

 **Troubled waters**

Well this was a shock. First, he had no idea how this so called 'high security' bank had over looked a drowsy woman 'accidently' falling into the room holding all their computers. Second, they used a biological tracking agent which could also cause allergic reactions. Supposedly. Unless of course they knew to expect them and the tracking device was in-fact some sort of poison.

That last thought soon plagued his mind. Michael Vaughn knew there was only one thing to do. He needed to get Sydney out of the building and to the medics as soon as possible. Of course, the protocol for such an event would suggest otherwise, but Vaughn did not give a damn about protocol when it came to Sydney's life.

 _Sloane:_

He was getting nervous now. She'd left before he'd said the signalling words. _She didn't look well._ He kept repeating the scene in his head, she'd looked unsteady and sweating. Despite his concern for her safety, he was starting to feel rather pissed off. _Had she really jeopardized the mission just to make me look bad?_ That's what it was starting to look like. He sounded like a baffling baboon without Sydney's side of the speech. They'd been answering questions which he had no hard time of, but as soon as Falco had requested the second half…

He clenched his fists and had decided to fake the rest of it. But judging by their faces, he wasn't doing too well so far. He knew they weren't actually trying to get investment, but right now he was looking like a fool. And a fool, he was not. _I will make her pay for this._ He finished his speech and sat down, eager to get some time with his thoughts. His ear piece did not receive signal in this room, so he sat, and he waited.

 _Vaughn_

"Hello? I need some help. We have a problem here." Vaughn hushed into his ear piece, still balancing an unconscious Sydney on his knelt over knees.

Over in the foyer, Jack stiffened as he heard the plea. He wasn't hoping to have to do anything more than stand in the foyer this afternoon. Although he did get a slight feeling of joy as he recognised it was _Vaughn's_ voice reporting an issue.

Jack lifted his hand gently to his ear and opened communication,

"Where are you?" Was his first concern.

Vaughn replied, "I'm in the computer facility room but Sydney is here too. She stumbled in a few minutes ago – I think she's had a reaction to that stupid tracking device."

As Jack listened he did not expect what he heard. Why on earth, had Sydney ran to him if she wasn't feeling right? The protocol had been to seek help from him, not Vaughn. Jack was now even angrier under the surface, but he had always put his daughter's safety above all.

"Is she conscious" He asked. Expecting the answer as a worried "No" came through his ear.

After a short silence, Jack had figured out what to do,  
"Here's what you need to do. You're going to put her somewhere safe in the room, take the USB and hurriedly get the recording and get those transfers set up. Whilst they're running you're going to slip out and carry Sydney quickly into the foyer as though you found her near the restroom. I will say I'm a doctor and take her from there to the medics nearby. You will then excuse yourself and get back to the room to finish off the transfers then get the hell out of there."

 _Vaughn:_

Vaughn looked down at Sydney's peaceful face as she lay still. He carefully knelt her in the corner of the room with her head resting against a pile of what looked like newspapers. Before he went to get the USB, he stopped and admired the beautiful woman in front of him, even if she was unconscious. He slowly placed his hand in the inside pocket of the cardigan and pulled out the USB, all the time watching Sydney's face for any reaction. Nothing. He so desperately wanted her to open her eyes. He knew above all that it would be him that Jack would blame for this.

He stood up and turned around about to move to the computer he'd set up, when he came face to face with a man dressed in military looking uniform; holding a rather large gun. So, this was their security.

 _A few moments later._

He'd been knocked out. The last he remembered was the back hand of some hairy man. If he hadn't been so distracted with Sydney, he could have fought back. It was as though she'd read his thoughts as he heard Sydney's voice say "damn, this is all my fault" from across the room.

The room was small and looked untouched, the wallpaper was peeling away and there were cobwebs all over the place. He was just about fully conscious again when he registered hearing her voice.

"Sydney?" He called out to the, what appeared empty room. But his voice came out as a muffled moan. He felt then the scarf material that was wrapped around his mouth. _Damn._

Yet, he heard a shuffle in response then suddenly Sydney came into his view. She was handcuffed by rope with some more binding her legs, a scarf that must have once been used to cover her mouth also; was now hanging around her neck.

He noticed then that he was on the floor, also bound.

Sydney shuffled closer and leaned over to what Vaughn would normally think of as a kiss. She got close to him with her mouth then clamped her teeth on the scarf and yanked it under his chin. _If only we weren't being held captive,_ Vaughn thought to himself.

Once the scarf had been lifted, he gasped for a breath, Sydney still silent but staring at him with those deep hazel eyes.

 _Sydney –_

She enjoyed seeing him gasping for air, she was worried he might suffocate considering how tight they'd bound him. She was angry and confused as to where they were and knowing that her stupid unconscious self must have had something to do with it. She had genuinely meant to get to the restroom yet somehow kept walking on until she decided any room would do.

Still, she'd somehow managed to trip into the one room that Vaughn was in. _Strange,_ she thought.

Anyway, the explanation as to how they'd got here soon wouldn't matter if they didn't figure a way out. Judging by the old fashioned restrain, the bank security was either not ready for being infiltrated or they had decided to deal with them, let's say… _unprofessionally._

She was aware now that Vaughn was looking at her, as she was looking at him. She knew he'd figured out the same thing, he was a good agent.

"Sydney, if you turn around I can untie you" He told her gently. Still with that soothing voice of his. Their capturers had not bound them to the wall, which was a stupid mistake. However, it did imply that they weren't planning on leaving them alone for long.

Still, the look of calm and reassurance on Vaughn's face managed to make her feel relaxed. The world could be ending for all she knew yet looking into his eyes right now, she felt as if everything would somehow work out fine. She needed that sometimes.

Still close to him after pulling away his scarf, Sydney decided to lean over and place a small kiss on his lower lip before quickly turning away with her hands behind her but know in front of him.

 _Vaughn:_

He didn't expect her to kiss him. His first thought was that she must be worried about their safety so wanted to reassure him, but her face said it all. She felt guilty, but his attempts to remain calm and collected had managed to affect her at least.

He had to strain to get his hands - which were bound in front of him, unlike Sydney's, to reach hers so his fingers could get a decent grip of the rope. He had to stretch a few times to get a good hold, but eventually he got it and had managed to pull the rope free.

The moment she was free, she spun around and began untying his hands. "They'll be back soon," she said in a hurried tone. Vaughn could also make out the glint of fear in her voice. She was a strong woman, but no one likes to get beaten.

It was as though the timing was staged, as the second she'd said it one large butch man came into the room and laughed at the sight of them.

Sydney hadn't untied him but had loosened them enough for him to work on his own hands, which he started immediately as Sydney was covering the man's gaze.

The first few seconds were quiet and slow, the man entered and a locking mechanism clicked, followed by him walking towards Sydney. But as he reached her, everything sped up as Vaughn began wildly thrashing at his rope and Sydney jumped up.

She was an excellent fighter, Vaughn enjoyed watching her practice at the APO gym. Although he was twice her size, he had faith she would be able to disarm him.

Except her legs were still bound. _Oh no._ She'd been too occupied untying him. Never the less, she threw her weight into him and hopped in an upright position. He chuckled even as he flew back, but quickly recovered and swiped his hefty arms down on her knees. Sydney had tried to intercept him and crash her own arms down on him so he wouldn't lose her balance, but she wasn't quick enough this time.

She slammed into the ground which caused Vaughn to yell out and leave the remaining rope binding his hands. Sydney had hit the floor hard as he legs had weighed her down, she was slowly moving to stand up again when the man lifted the end of his large gun and brought it down on her head. Hard.

"Hey!" Vaughn yelled, "Don't you dare touch her!" He knew it was too late. She was still breathing, but unconscious again.

The man grabbed Vaughn's hands and wrapped the rope again, tight. Vaughn struggled and tried to punch him in the face, but this guy was stronger.

A metal loop was pinned to the floor in which he pulled the let over rope attached to his hands and tied around in a knot Vaughn had recognised from his scouting days. Now he was attached to the floor and the scarf had been readjusted, covering his mouth.

All he could do was watch as Sydney was hauled up in a sitting position with head dropped, and tied to the floor as well.

He may have been bound, but he had failed to protect her. It was like a stab in his chest, the pain he felt from seeing the red bruise on her forehead as she'd been placed directly in front of him.

 _Please let someone come to get us out soon._

 _Jack:_

He's been too long. He was supposed to bring Sydney to the foyer yet he still wasn't here. _I knew I couldn't trust him to protect her. This proves my point exactly, there's no way I'm letting him back into Sydney's life after this._


	8. Don't panic

**Don't panic**

 _Vaughn –_

It felt like a good hour had gone by since they'd left him and Sydney in this murky little room. He'd been looking for a pulse as Sydney's breathing appeared more shallow, but she had then unexpectedly woken up. He forehead looked pained and the disappointment she felt was clear. Vaughn could read her like a book. Most of the time.

She gazed up at him and was about to talk to him when he quickly interrupted – "Sydney, don't you dare tell me you're sorry. This isn't your fault, ok? None of us knew about the tracking device even after all the research we did, none of us. You weren't to know you'd have a reaction and end up here" he softly chuckled at that last part. It was ridiculous really, how she'd ended up in the one room in the entire building that he was in. Let alone the fact she of all people had had a reaction.

Although he'd already managed to get the scarf off, the binding was proving difficult now the metal loop in the floor was pulling it away from him. Sydney had noticed the loop and was now shuffling towards it.

She got close but not close enough to touch it. Vaughn looked at her with a sign of defeat but she replied with a cunning smile. _This woman would never cease to amaze me._

She scooted her legs around and quickly banged her foot straight at the loop. She had a lot of force behind her but the whole thing was incredibly loud. "Quickly Syd, they're going to hear." He tried not to sound critical.

She continued to slam her foot into the loop. It was noticeably loosening now but footsteps could be heard outside, each one making Vaughn flinch at the expectation of that stupid man returning.

"It's nearly there!" She strained. Vaughn didn't like to be the one freed first again, but the loop keeping Sydney wasn't in his reach and there's no way she'd allow him to free her before him.

The loop was flung across the room but before he could react the door boomed open and a different hefty man entered. He had a scar from the top of his forehead right to his chin and a mean look slapped on his face.

He went immediately for Sydney, not noticing that Vaughn was no longer restrained to the floor. This gave him time to undo the rope, legs first. The rope attached to his hands were still attached to the loop so he had to be gentle so not to draw attention to it.

Scar face ignored him completely however and knelt next to Sydney, staring at her. It made Vaughn feel sick and angry, it was always Sydney that got the horrid criminals attention.

All of a sudden, breaking his silence, he spit in Sydney's face. "Why aren't you a pretty little thing then" He taunted. _What a creep._ Vaughn knew he had to do something, but it was no good whilst he was bound. "You leave her alone" He said in a calm but threatening tone. He knew it was no good, but he wanted to show Sydney that he wasn't free yet.

Sydney gave Scar face a menacing look, "In your dreams".

That made Scar face laugh, quite erratically. He knelt closer and placed his hand on her chest, "you're mine now, bitch". _This was not ok._ Scar face moved his hand to stroke her leg. She flinched as he did but kept a look of disgust and threat on her face aimed directly at him.

Vaughn had had enough, "I said" Scar face turned around, a smirk on his face, "don't touch her" Vaughn said as he swung the rope in his hands. The metal loop attached, it swerved in the air, smacking straight up against his bony cheek. _Hah, didn't expect that did you._

 _Sydney –_

She watched as the metal connected with his face, sending him stumbling back. She physically sighed as that creeps hand left her thigh. _Men._

She suddenly felt Vaughn's hands behind her back untying her hands. "No Vaughn! You don't have time, get out!" She was desperate for him to get out before Scar face realised what just happened. It was a heavy metal loop but Scar face was still with us and quickly standing up. Vaughn of course ignored her and carried on. She rested her head on his arm and looked into his eyes; that got his attention. "Vaughn" She said softly, "go".

He gave her a pleading look which stung a little, but if he stayed here he was just going to get caught again and then they'd both be stuck.

 _Meanwhile,_

 _Jack –_

Jack was ow moving swiftly through the crowded foyer towards the corridor where the investment meetings had took place. As he got closer though the room suddenly went red and security officers surrounded the doors.

A wave of panic quickly propagated through the bustle of everyday people. Jack watched as a group of three officers parted away from the door leading to the corridor as the American investment hopefuls left the door, escorted.

When Jack saw Sloane he hastily made note of the look of calm on his smug face. No sign of Sydney.

He got as close to the door as possible then tried to slip through. He was stopped by an officer and decided to play the 'stupid tourist' – "Oh, I'm so, so sorry, I need toilet" He shouted to add effect. It seemed to fool him but he wasn't going to let him in.

"Listen sir, you cannot go in there, this is a lockdown" he said but calmly so Jack knew this was the best time to get in.

He leaned in and said "I need to tell you sir, I saw something very mysterious earlier" that got him alert.

The officer looked around then looked back at Jack with peaked interest. But with one smooth move, Jack raised his hand and steadily sprayed the man's face with a helpful dose of what Marshall called it, 'doze spray'.

The man fell silently into Jack arms, he carried him upright quickly through the door. No one noticed as the room was too full of panic. Once through the door he dropped the man on the floor and walked hastily through the corridor. _Where is she?_

Two guards were up ahead with their backs to him, one turned so Jack ducked behind a concealed corner. When he safely looked back, only one guard remained. Within seconds he was situated behind the guard without alerting his attention. He tapped him on the shoulder, the guard spun around and looked shocked. He seemed to be only in his early 20's. "What the" – He said, puzzled and obviously not prepared. "Excuse me, you're in my way" Jack replied.

One hefty slam of his palm to the guards face left him unconscious. Jack moved on.


	9. It's time

**It's time**

 _Jack –_

Jack had been searching through doors for the right room, he'd seen the computer site with the USB attached and even debated continuing the mission. But it was foolish to think the system would be online now the whole building had gone into lockdown.

A voice came through his ear piece, "Jack? What's happening in there? We have a red alert lockdown; have you been made?" it was Dixon's voice coming from the outside security van. Jack knew he hadn't directly meant had it been him that was made, but he still felt a small surge of anger at the thought of the blame being put on him. Especially seeing as it was all Vaughn's fault.

"Sydney and Vaughn are somewhere in the building still. I have reason to believe they've been captured by security. Hopefully it won't take much to get them out." With saying that, a thought suddenly infiltrated Jack's mind.

He ran back to the computer room and managed from his experience to hack into the system just enough to type in some commands. He opened communication on his ear piece – "Dixon, I need to get into their security system quick" he hurried his voice to stress the importance of time.

Dixon in the van immediately went to work. He typed speedily on the few different keyboards in there and brought up a screen that now read 'MBS Security Team – here for you'. "Jack, I'm in, you should see it on your screen now".

Jack had begun typing as soon as the logo had reached his screen. Within seconds a map of the ground floor was in front of him with many little red dots scattered around, one flashing. "Dixon? Sydney had a tracker, she must be one of these red dots. The one flashing – is that her?" He was convinced it was – the flashing a sign that she was out of bounds, but there were other red dots also out of bounds, not flashing.

Dixon sighed and rubbed his chin. "I don't know there system Jack. This bio tracking thing has not been used for years. None of us expected it and it was well hidden."

Jack stared at the screen, mentally working out directions from the room he was in to the room of the flashing dot. "We can discuss why we didn't know about it later," He didn't have time to speculate on whether this was her or not – he needed to get her out. And Vaughn.

He ran out of the room to face three guards ready and waiting for him. _Perfect._

 _Sydney –_

She felt like punching Vaughn right now. _Why is he not leaving?!_ She was angry at him, he would be useful if he got out, and here he was just risking getting trapped. Again.

She watched as the last bit of rope came lose around her hands – but it was too late for him.

Scar face had stood up and grabbed the rope-metal loop ensemble, wrapping the rope firmly around his knuckles so he had more control. "Vaughn!" She shouted to alert him but he wasn't quick enough. The metal clanged and slapped at him but it only hit his shoulder. Vaughn ran at Scar face and thrust his fist into his belly. Scar face was not impressed. He lifted the loop again and went to slam it down before Vaughn could step back from his punch. The metal missed Vaughn's head by inches.

Sydney was desperately trying to untie her legs with her newly freed hands, but her focus was on Vaughn.

Vaughn had ducked underneath Scar faces giant arm and slipped behind him, delivering a hard punch to his back. Scar face was hurt, but nowhere near enough to get him to back off. The metal loop was a handy weapon, but it was hard to control.

Scar face whipped the metal around but Vaughn managed to duck in time, causing the metal to slap Scar face on the arm. A bright red line quickly immerging.

 _Vaughn –_

 _I can't win this fight._ He knew his hand combat was useless compared to this gigantic ape. His so-called weapon wasn't enough to disable either of them and it was proving an annoyance to Scar face. Soon Vaughn knew he'd result in using his own fists, and then Vaughn would be done for.

 _I can't leave him in here with Sydney._ Vaughn was determined to at least keep Scar face occupied until Sydney was free and could get away.

Suddenly, Scar face's fist slammed into his chest. _Shit._ This guy was strong. Vaughn was thrust back into the wall behind him, recovering too slowly as Scar face brought down the metal loop, straight across Vaughn's face.

"Vaughn!" He heard Sydney cry out. She'd seen him in combat before but never in such a tight contained room with such an unfair advantage on their part.

Vaughn decided he needed to play sneaky. The pain from the hit was stinging his cheek and his left eye. He felt the blood slowly drip down to his neck. Fuelled on anger and trying to concentrate on the metal loop staying out of his way – Vaughn heaved all his weight right into Scar faces chest. It knocked him back just enough for him to grab Sydney who was nearly free of her leg binds, and throw her at the door. "Go!" He yelled at her.

She was shocked as he had hauled her away, but she complied by running for the door, not so far away.

Vaughn swung around and grabbed the metal loop out of instinct just as it was about to collide with his face again. He pulled with all his strength and aided with the surprise from Scar face – the metal loop flung out of his hands and straight to the corner of the room. Now it was going to get more difficult.

 _Jack –_

He stepped over the last of the three guards, now all unconscious on the floor. His combat skills were not quite spectacular but they had been enough for him to use the 'doze spray' on one whilst fighting back another.

He ran this time, through a few different corridors, twists and turns. As he turned one of five corners Sydney came hurtling towards him. "Sydney!" He felt relief until he saw the huge red bruise on her forehead.

"Sydney? What have they done?" He said as he cupped her head. She quickly pulled her head away and looked frustrated.

"Dad, we need to help Vaughn. They took us in a room up there, I managed to free him but he wouldn't leave until I was free. Now there's some bastard that's trying to kill him – come on!" She gave it to him with a furious undertone in her voice. Was she mad at him or mad at Vaughn?

Jack didn't want to leave Vaughn to get killed, he didn't hate him that much. He had in fact, just started to like him after he'd shown himself to be useful at APO.

 _Had she said he'd not left until she was free?_ It was unprofessional, but certainly showed he cared.

They both ran back towards the room Sydney pointed out. Two guards showed up just in front of the door. A nod to Sydney and she went straight in. A few hard slaps and punches and one guard was down. Jack used the other guard's momentum as he lunched at him. Jack had shifted out of his way then grabbed the guard and thrown him into the wall. Both woozy but not quite out, the professional thing would be to make sure they were out – but Sydney wasn't concerned. She ran straight into the room.

Watching his daughter's determination to safe someone else, made him wonder why he did keep pondering over the most 'professional' thing to do. After all, he'd risked getting captured also to come and find Sydney. Maybe Vaughn's sacrifice was the same thing. _Ok, so he does care about her. That's clear, but does he love her?_ Still plaguing his mind, Jack followed Sydney into the room.

 _Sydney –_

She felt a sudden wave of sadness take over her as the first thing she saw was Vaughn on the floor with that horrible bright scar across his face and now a black eye. His arms were bruised and he looked barely conscious.

She wanted to hurry over to him but Scar face was stood smirking again. "Aww, you came back. But unfortunately, he won't be entertaining you anymore – I will" Scar face said with that stupid Cheshire cat grin on his face, each word making the ball of anger in her stomach multiply.

She threw herself at him and dived her legs into his. It was a reckless move as it left her on the floor and supposedly Scar face except in Sydney's anger fuelled, blind attack – she'd missed completely. He knelt over her quick while she landed on the floor and he grabbed her arms – "See. All mine now, and I'm going to enjoy every last piece of you – Hah!" He laughed.

Jack burst in and took in the scene around him. "You bloody well will not" he said and ran at Scar face.

In his knelt position Scar face had made himself vulnerable. But he hadn't expected a third party other than his own. Jack plunged his shoulder into him causing Scar face to topple over and fall to the ground.

Sydney jumped up immediately and ran to Vaughn. She knelt by his side and stroked his scar. "Vaughn? Vaughn, can you hear me?" She spoke softly so he wouldn't panic. He was fighting to stay awake. He opened his good eye and looked up at her – "Bit stupid of me to take him right," he mumbled with humour in his voice but his defeated face spoke otherwise. This was going to push him down for a while. _But I'll be there._

Sydney smiled then noticed the silence in the room. She turned and Scar face was fast asleep on the floor. Sydney was confused, _He can't of… Can he?_ She looked at her father, then again at Scar face.

Jack gave a very small 'hah' then lifted his gun into eyesight. "Let's go. Now" He said impatiently.

Sydney lifted Vaughn to his feet. He could stand but wasn't too good at keeping balance. She placed her head into his shoulder and whispered, "I've got you, you're ok" into his ear.

 _Jack –_

He saw her whisper something to him that made him appear to physically relax. Above all his confusion towards them, he did admire the way they made the other so content. The truth was, Jack knew that Vaughn made Sydney happy. But Jack wasn't looking at the present, he was looking at the future. Vaughn had married someone else. Jack could relate to Vaughn's mistake given it was similar to his own mislead marriage with Irina. _But that did not make it ok to just forget and lead my daughter away._

They had a few incidents with guards as they followed directions from Dixon whom still had the map Jack had used earlier. Most of the time it was only one guard that Jack could take out on his own but when there was more Sydney managed to use Jack's tranquiliser gun to knock them out.

She was gripping onto Vaughn the entire journey, right until they were in the van that Marshall had gotten. Driving, was Arvin Sloane.


	10. Blame

**AN:Sorry this took a little longer to post then the others, the last few chapters will be up soon. Stay with me :)**

 **Blame**

 _Vaughn –_

He was vaguely aware that he was being lead down corridors. He heard a couple of gun shots and was now slowly coming to realisation that he was moving yet he was still. He looked up through his right eye, the left somehow painful to open.

He saw Sydney's jawline facing to his left, when he strained to follow her line of sight he saw Jack sat opposite them, in a black van.

Jack hadn't noticed he was awake, he was focusing on whatever Sydney was saying. It was hard for Vaughn to hear, his ear was sore and he wasn't fully conscious.

He caught a mumbled response from Jack, that even whilst half asleep Vaughn could still hear his angry tone.

 _Sydney –_

So apparently this was all Vaughn's fault. _I knew he would blame him, I knew it._

Sydney was angry at her father's reaction. They'd gotten out alive and even found out that Dixon ad managed to set up the transfers after Jack's quick intermission earlier. The mission was a success, which was all Sydney cared about. Second to whether Vaughn would be ok.

She could see him continuously going in and out of consciousness. He had taken a pretty hard hit from that Scar faced bastard.

She was angry at that too. The sight of Vaughn's swollen eye and that horrible scar on his cheek. She wanted to take him away and kiss every inch of it. She wanted to tell him he was ok and that the mission hadn't failed. But most importantly, she didn't want to have to tell him that Jack seemed determined to put the blame in him.

It wasn't like Vaughn's job was at risk or that he'd suffer any real punishment, but Sydney knew that Vaughn would be hurt by her father's disapproval. She always felt herself that her Father disapproving of Vaughn wouldn't prevent them from making a future together, yet Vaughn didn't seem to think of it that way.

 _A week earlier –_

 _"_ _Vaughn?" Sydney call for him as she entered his office at APO. They had arranged to go to dinner at quite an expensive Italian restaurant. But as she wondered around his office she saw no sign of him. She looked upon his desk, she saw a coffee mug that looked still fairly warm. Where is he?_

 _Sydney waited for twenty minutes then decided to leave the office to see if he'd be occupied elsewhere. Weiss bumped into her as she left, "Hey Syd. You looking for Mike? I saw him go down to the shooting range earlier, might wanna go and talk him away haha" He'd said with his usual happy attitude._

 _"_ _Talk him away? What's happened?" She asked him, "I won't say, I'm sworn to secrecy." He joked, but when he didn't offer her anything Sydney knew something bad had happened._

 _She ran down the steps to the shooting range and heard the continuous shots before seeing him at the far stand. He was stood with perfect posture. This gorgeous man whom she was supposed to be gazing at over a table of hot pasta._

 _She put on her safety glasses and ear protection then checked out a pistol and stood at the stand next to him. She started shooting with perfection form. Vaughn had stopped firing._

 _He stood behind her and watched as she completed a round then slowly took off her safety gear and facing him._

 _"_ _Don't suppose they serve margherita pizzas down here?" She'd said to break the tension between them. Vaughn had smiled briefly but quickly pulled his lips back._

 _"_ _Sydney. I don't know if we can do this anymore." He spoke slowly with a stern tone._

 _Sydney was not worried however. She knew if something was so strong as to break them up, she would know about it. And right now, she had no clue._

 _"_ _Ok. Why not?" She replied flatly, trying not to reveal anything in her expression. At the moment it was nearly laughable._

 _But the mood soon changed._

 _"_ _Your father came to see me. He told me that if I so much as thought about going near you again then he'd kill me." He knew that Jack's threat was most likely nothing more, but could he really be sure._

 _"_ _Vaughn. My father is stupid. He thinks what is best for me is being locked up without anyone else in my life. He'd hate any man that got close to me, this isn't just about you." She tried to reassure him._

 _Vaughn heard how sure she was of her opinion, but he was going to stand his ground._

 _"_ _Except me Sydney. With me, he'd rather see me dead then even talking to you now. And it's all my fault."_

 _"_ _So what? I'll talk to him, I'll let him know that if he ever hurts you he'll have me to deal with. I won't let him treat you this way. He isn't going to kill you Vaughn. As far as I'm concerned that's his way of admitting that he doesn't know how to deal with you. He's mad because of Lauren and he doesn't want us to be together, but do you know what? I don't care and neither should you."_

 _He was a little shocked at her reaction. He thought this would be a lot easier._

 _"_ _Sydney, he isn't going to just stand around and let me get close to you because you said so. I can't be near you here and if I have to go to work each morning knowing I have to be careful even talking to you, then, then, I can't do this anymore"._

 _He'd stumbled a little on that last part. She knew without doubt that as much as he meant what he was saying, he would be waiting for her to talk him out of it. He didn't want to leave her, he knew that. And so did her._

 _"_ _Vaughn, my father is not in this relationship" – Oh great image there Sydney, well done. She continued,_

 _"_ _We are not governed by his appraisal. He knows that I won't stop seeing you because he isn't happy about it. That's why he threatened you, not me. He isn't happy so he's throwing his toys out the pram, that's all. He has nothing, Vaughn. If he broke us up then he knows, deep down, he knows how upset I would be. And even though he would have 'done what's right', he wouldn't be any happier than he is right now. He is not going to get between us." She gave him a strict look. Please agree so we can leave and I can finally eat something._

 _Vaughn considered her dad's empty threat and his anger if he knew how close they already were._

 _"_ _I'll give it some time" He replied. He wasn't prepared to push it all aside. "But I don't know how far we can push him Sydney. He" Vaughn was interrupted as Sydney's lips suddenly engulfed his. Her body was pressing against him as she felt his take a sigh of relief. She pulled away keeping her head close to his,_

 _"_ _Let's get dinner. I shall shoot my father tomorrow, sort the whole thing out."_

 _Now –_

He'd grinned and they'd spoken no more about it over dinner that night. Of course, she was joking when she said she'd shoot her father, but it didn't seem like such a bad idea at the moment.

Jack was trying to contain his anger over the mission, but Sydney could see the angry looks he kept flashing at Vaughn, even whilst out of it.

"Dad, we completed the mission, this doesn't have to be a decision on who to blame, there is no blame – we got the money!" She couldn't understand why he couldn't let it go. She carried on, determined on making him drop the whole thing before Vaughn was fully awake,

"None of us knew about the trackers, we couldn't have predicted that. If anything it was my fault for directing attention to the computer room". Sydney did feel responsible. If she had been more careful after she realised she needed help, she might not have ended up falling into the room where Vaughn was.

Jack was keeping quiet, but she could see his jaw clenching hard to stay shut.

"Dad. You are not going to blame this on Vaughn. He could have left me and got help which I know would have been the better option for the mission. But he didn't. He made sure I had a chance of getting out and he was the one who went against that stupid giant of a guard and now look at him!" She got increasingly angry as she spoke. It had just dawned on her that Vaughn would never have had to face Scar face if it wasn't for Sydney getting them captured in the first place, or if Sydney had managed to get Vaughn out before he started trying to break her free.

She leaned closer to her dad, "He saved me Dad. Not you." She knew that sounded harsh. Without Jack helping her when she carried Vaughn out of the building, she couldn't have done it.

She was well aware that Jack had in fact saved her, but so had Vaughn, and if Jack continued to be so narrow minded, that would soon be forgotten.

Jack cleared his throat, gave another look at Vaughn who was starting to sit up.

"That didn't go quite as planned." Vaughn muttered as he stretched and sat up straight, blinking. He still couldn't open his left eye and he could feel the bruises forming on his arms.

Sydney's hand still rested on his back, gently. He could feel her warmth and reassurance, but Jack's facial expression was not so obvious.

The van slowed to a halt, the doors opening. Dixon reached out a hand for Vaughn to hold, but before he could stand,

"Your welcome." Was what Jack replied, staring only at Sydney. He stood up slowly then made his way out of the van straight past Dixon and Marshall.

 _Later on at APO, Sydney –_

He was weak but he would be fine. Vaughn's eye would take time to heal so he was bound to desk duty for a while. The thought of Vaughn safe at a desk made her feel at ease after today's events.

She'd made sure he'd got sat down at the main meeting room in the centre of APO, but he was now walking ok and refused to let her help him. He steadied himself in the moving chair then turned so he was facing Sydney who'd sat beside him.

"You remember a while back when your Dad threatened me?" He asked her softly. He took a big sigh then looked Sydney in the eyes, "Well even though he managed to somehow let it slide for a bit, I think him seeing me at your place the other night and now this screw up, I don't think he's going to be 'ok' with us anymore."

There was a silence after that. His gaze remained on her but her eyes and thoughts were jotting around the room.

 _My dad is going to be the reason I lose Vaughn for the second time. Why does this have to be so complicated?_

She faced him, "Vaughn." She spoke softly also, in the hope that Vaughn wouldn't retaliate with his sometimes short fuse.

"I'm not losing you again. I can sort this". She didn't wait for his response before bolting up and out of the meeting room.

The debrief was supposed to commence in a few minutes but she knew where Jack would be and she wanted to talk to him before he gave some speech about the mission going hazy when Vaughn ignored protocol and remained inside the building meaning we'd have to go back in.

So, with clenched fists, Sydney made her way to the roof.


	11. A good man

**AN:** Sorry guys (or not), this is another long chapter. Hoping this will be finished soon so you all can enjoy it. Thanks for still reading :)

 **A good man**

 _Jack –_

So Vaughn had saved her. Vaughn, the man whom married someone under the same pretences as his own marriage, had managed to protect his daughter. This man who repeatedly made the wrong choices, yet performed well in the field.

It was clear the effect Sydney had on Vaughn. If Jack had the opportunity to destroy Irina Derevko after he found out, he wouldn't let anyone stand in his way. Yet Sydney had prevented Vaughn from murdering Lauren. Sydney had stopped Vaughn doing many things, whilst persuading him to do many others. Vaughn was blind when it came to his daughter.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that when it came to Vaughn, the protocol was nothing compared to Sydney's wellbeing. Any other agent to that matter. Vaughn was a compassionate man. He was a man that preferred to listen to his heart. Jack was often not too fond of such.

Things had to be done a certain way. Vaughn had not gone to get help when he should have. Things would have gone a lot smoother if he had.

Yes, he can make Sydney happy. But did that mean Vaughn was now the only man good enough for her. Not to him it didn't.

 _He cannot be trusted._ That man does not always make the best decisions. He is blinded when Sydney is in picture. Vaughn listening to his heart, cannot be trusted.

Yet, even whilst speculating this in his mind, Jack could not help repeating the same few words. _But is that not what I would do?_

Vaughn let Sydney escape which because of the situation, added valuable time and risked every agents cover. He'd seen a chance to get Sydney free, and he'd taken it without thinking it through. He put Sydney first and risked his own incarceration. _But is that not what I would have done?_

The more he pondered over today's events as the sun went down and the rays of moonlight soaked the rooftop, the more he thought to himself, _But is that not what I would have done?_

The more he could see Vaughn's face as he was laid on the ground after a beating. _After saving your daughter._

The more he saw Vaughn's joy as he had tried to enter Sydney's house this morning.

 _His lover._

That particular thought had come out of nowhere. Jack had surprised himself. It was clear that Vaughn had a soft spot for Sydney, but…

 _His lover?_ The idea that they were in love was almost a laughable expense to Jack. He refused to think that they had enough admiration for such things.

No. He refused it because he couldn't let that happen. Yet he already had. They are in love. _In love._ She loves him back.

With this 'fact' rolling around his mind, Jack wondered back to the mission once more in preparation for the mission.

 _Vaughn –_

He was starting to get anxious. Dixon had entered the briefing room and had sat opposite. He was looking through his own notes of the mission.

The sounds of Dixon's finger sliding against the pages then whipping them over felt like they were slipping straight into Vaughn's mind, as though a microphone was next to them.

Distant chatter from agents from a different meeting room sounded louder and louder. The air from the air vents seemed to be shooting out like bullets.

"Are you ok?" Dixon had looked up from his notes a moment ago and could see the sweat starting to emerge on Vaughn's forehead.

He felt like he was suffocating. He had no idea what Sydney would say to Jack. The truth was, Vaughn did fear Jack. He wasn't afraid to talk to him or even stand up to him if he needed too, but the thought of what a man with that much power could do. That troubled him.

"Yeah. Sorry, can't get things off my mind today."

What would Jack do to stop them being together? How far would he actually go?

After a short moment had passed, Vaughn found himself picturing his new life in Santa Barbara after he'd convinced himself that Jack would somehow lead him to disappear.

Dixon had been sat relaxed, with his cup of coffee for the last ten minutes. Then again, Dixon didn't have much to go through.

The words on the pages in front of Vaughn seemed too dark and yet too bright. He'd read through his report but all he could see was 'FAILURE' slapped on every page.

Taking a deep sigh and leaning back in his chair, Vaughn stroked his palms against his forehead.

"You didn't do anything wrong. The mission was a success. A little deviation from protocol is often necessary when something unexpected happens." Dixon registered Vaughn's angst and attempted to make him feel better.

"None of us could have anticipated what happened. I feel you dealt with it rather well. You took a beating to save your colleague, I've seen stupider things happen."

Vaughn felt Dixon's remarks were fair, but he knew how the mission would have gone down if he hadn't been so stupid. He would have gone out of there as soon as he was free, grabbed Jack and stormed back in to destroy Scar face in a matter of seconds, using surprise and tranquilizers of course.

Sydney might have been left alone with that creep for a few minutes, but nothing she couldn't handle. The whole thing would have been over an awful lot sooner.

 _Jack –_

He did as he always had. He'd rehearsed some important information to give and he'd memorized some facts. It was important to him to feel he gave a professional and accurate briefing. He took a few deep breaths to maintain his calm appearance.

He was taking in the sights of nightime LA when he heard the rooftop door burst open and saw as Sydney hurriedly approached him, wearing all black.

She stopped in a huff beside him and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Father." She stated, flatly.

 _This isn't going to be fun._

 _Sydney –_

 _This is going to be fun._ She practically jumped the stairs to the roof as she was intruded by too many thoughts at once.

 _He is not going to get in our way. Why does he even hate Vaughn so much?_ Her anger was building as she recalled the last few years events between her boyfriend and her father.

She had hoped that Jack would just continue to hate their relationship but while accepting it exists. However, it looked like she wasn't the only one who couldn't forget about Lauren.

Upon arriving to the top floor, Sydney had already decided how she was going to play this. She knew her father enough to probably be the only one capable of manipulating him.

Well, perhaps manipulating him seemed a little too extreme. But she'd decided that if she couldn't get him to act like a god dammed grown up, then that's what she was willing to do.

She was his beloved daughter after all. He would do anything for her, and Sydney didn't blink twice at her opportunity to use that to her advantage. When it came to the possibility of losing Vaughn again, she knew she couldn't see straight.

 _Jack –_

He thought about taking the first word, but he knew Sydney had likely already got a prepared speech in her head. He looked at her face and kept his cold expression, calm and still.

He felt the pull he had towards her. That need a parent has to fulfil their children's wishes. Heck, he could almost feel the dripping anger oozing from her body.

She looked stubborn and ready for a confrontation. Jack noticed she'd gotten changed after the mission, meaning she'd likely already had a long chat with Vaughn at her house.

It had felt like a few minutes at least, shared and yet still neither of them said anything.

She was waiting for him to give her something to argue with. Well Jack was tired and frankly, right now he didn't give a crap about where Vaughn was or who he was with.

This thought did give him a moment to see what it would really be like if he did not care about Sydney being involved with him. Vaughn's whereabouts sometimes haunted him as he was so desperate to believe he wasn't with Sydney. Sleeping in her bed.

The silence broke as Sydney took that one step closer.

"Jack." She never called him Jack unless she was talking about something serious.

"I want you to leave Vaughn alone." She had a glistening in her eyes as she said his name.

Jack was unsure whether to interject or leave her to give him all she had then retaliate.

Sydney was good at improvisation, everyone knew that. He decided to take the shorter route.

"Sydney. I don't think he's a good man."

Silence returned. He saw in her face that he'd already exceeded her expectations. He'd calculated her responses and had hit her with a point she would not expect. To criticise Vaughn being good for anyone.

She remained still and stubborn. Never taking her eyes away from his. Jack took this as his cue to carry on, being careful to use the right words which would hit her the most.

"He does not make good choices. He does not think straight when it comes to you and that will reflect in everything he ever does when he is with you."

Still no response.

"Sydney, he will make the wrong decision one day that will cost you so much more. He's already betrayed you Sydney."

As soon as he said _betrayed,_ Sydney snapped.

"You have no idea what you are talking about! What Vaughn did has nothing to do with anyone but me and him. He may have made a bad decision but it's up to me to forgive him. Not you!" She was angry and emphasised her words, but she was making an effort to stay reasonably calm.

"Well I haven't forgiven him Sydney. I don't think I need to look past that because he gave up on you and that is exactly what he is going to do again."

Sydney paused. She knew he had given up on her, but he had grieved and she still had no real idea on why he married someone else. She didn't want to think about that because it would never happen again.

"Why are you so stuck in the past Dad? It's not going to happen again because he'll never be in that situation."

"He will be the reason you end up unhappy. I am looking to the future, something you refuse to do. That man may make you happy now, but he cannot be trusted to make the right decisions".

Jack continued, "He is a plague on your life and you need to open your eyes and see him for the mistakes he has made. Vaughn will not be there for you one day and you will be sorry."

As far as Jack was concerned, he was done. He knew whatever Sydney had to offer, he would never change his mind. Vaughn would have to prove himself worthy and that was what it came down too.

"Fine. If that's how you feel then forget it. I change my mind, don't leave him alone. From now on, you are going to see what a good man he really is. Everyone makes mistakes, including me today. I am the reason this mission went rough, it's my fault not his. I made a mistake yet here you are talking to me. Do you think I am a bad person? Do you?!" She was smart, He'd give her that.

She was using her father's soft side towards her to balance it out. She knew that if she'd done exactly what Vaughn had, then Jack wouldn't bat an eyelid.

"You know my thoughts towards you Sydney." Jack didn't know what he could say. She'd thrown him a curve ball but he wasn't ready to give up.

"I thought so. You cannot admit that this has nothing to do with his choices. You just hate him because he loves me. You can't stand someone else protecting me. Admit it." She'd steadied herself and lowered her voice to a much more intimidating tone.

Jack thought of himself as a highly respectful man whom was always professional. He thought with his head, not his heart. It was the same cold techniques Sydney was using now.

"You make your own decisions Sydney. If you want to risk everything that you have. Stay with him. I will leave him alone. But only to show you that you should have listened to me in the first place." That was his final word. He never intended to cause Vaughn serious harm, he had just hoped he could scare him away.

Sydney smiled suddenly and lightly squeezed Jack's arm.

"Thank you." She said, then quickly cutting off the smile and staring at him with that cold expression again.

Jack watched as she swiftly walked away and back into the building.

APO was situated in a train station to shield its identity.

Jack pondered whether he was really going to let Vaughn off or not as a train quickly shot through the station.

 _He's nothing I can't handle._


	12. Faces

**Faces**

 _Vaughn –_

It'd been a long wait. The meeting room was now full with himself, Marshall, Dixon, Weiss, Nadia and Sloane. They were in a room with transparent walls and a single large transparent table in the middle. Vaughn remembered making jokes about the inconvenience of all this transparency to Sydney who'd replied with a rather suggestive remark. He laughed to himself at the memory. Luckily Vaughn's desk was situated in a shielded room. He recalled the many times Sydney had snuck in.

The room was beginning to feel ever so awkward as peoples chatter quieted down once they heard footsteps from the corridor nearest the room. Vaughn was itching to run out of there and also panicky about whether Jack would say something about his relationship.

He did not want to stop seeing Sydney. Not for anything. He'd like to think that Sydney's over-protective pushy father wouldn't come inbetween them, but Vaughn had yet to come up with a solution for them to stay happy whilst Jack was trying desperately to pull them apart.

It was Sydney that came from the corridor. Vaughn smiled as he observed she was wearing all black, which complimented her beautiful figure perfectly. But upon seeing her, he felt saddened. He pictured them in his office laughing about something so trivial, as they often did. Then he felt the slight sting as he realised he might never feel that happy around her again. As she came into the room, everyone turned to look as she wore an annoyed yet smug look on her face.

She sat down next to Vaughn and told everyone that Jack was on his way. Her face showed her father wasn't in her good books at this moment in time.

Vaughn didn't say anything to her yet. He waited patiently for her to decide whether to tell him Jack's decision or not.

Something didn't seem quite right. She was clearly thinking, hard. Suddenly she turned to him. "Vaughn. Were you actually planning on leaving me?" _Well that was unexpected._

 _Sydney –_

So Jack had made sense. In the fact that Vaughn has made bad choices, and he did betray her. But would he do it again? _No way._

 _Vaughn is a good guy._ She kept repeating it in her head. She was happy he'd offered to leave Vaughn alone, but something was now buried in her mind.

Vaughn's marriage was still a hook that would not let Sydney go. She could look past it, but it would never leave her completely. It hurt her still and she could hear Vaughn's remarks on how he never really loved her and how he was prepared to divorce her; but what did it matter, really. He was never going to admit to loving her.

 _I know he loves me._ It was clear, the amount of devotion he gave to her, and the undeniable connection they shared. She felt the same warmth and intense weight of feelings towards him now, as before, if not more. He was the man she loved and he was the man that loved her back. She could not change that.

But even as she told herself that Vaughn was not going to hurt her again, she could not help but go back to their previous conversation.

He'd told her he couldn't deal with Jack trying to break them up. He wasn't going to stay with her if it meant hiding from Jack. Was that weakness? Did she really mean so little to him that he wouldn't put up with a bit of competition?

She didn't want to think it, but Jack had put it in her head. _Clever Dad, real clever._ Her face twisted as she could picture Jack's smug face on the roof.

As she sat down next to Vaughn she felt that same urge. Her need to be close to him. If only she could pull him away and just stay next to him forever.

But it was still there, haunting her. If he was so weak, if they meant so little to him that he would give them up then had her father's word actually been right?

"Leave you? Of course not" He was talking quietly, under the chatter that had started amongst everyone else.

Vaughn ignored them however and gazed right at her.

"Vaughn, you said you didn't think you could stay with me if my father continued to try and break us up"

He realised what he'd done. He hadn't thought much into it at the time, the pressure of constantly fighting Jack had been straining on him. He knew he had to be careful here.

"I know what I said. But I didn't mean it. You know I would never leave you. I love you"

Sydney had been ready to jump in when he'd said those three words. _I love you too,_ she replied in her mind. She still felt her heart ache slightly when he told her he loved her. He'd insisted on saying it to her nearly every day since they'd been back together.

She regained her focus,

"My Dad said he'll leave you alone." She waited and studied his reaction. She saw the slight sigh of relief from his body but he still looked worried.

"Vaughn. He didn't do it because he likes you. He thinks you'll soon make a mistake and that I'll see what an untrustworthy man you are." She was talking in facts. Maintaining a tone resembling a documentary.

 _Vaughn –_

He felt his heart sting as he heard that last part. So this was it. She was still scared he was going to betray her again.

"I will never betray you again Sydney. That was a mistake, a huge mistake. I'm a better person now, I know what I want." He was panicking. He couldn't lose her, not again.

He wanted to shout out his desperation for her to believe him, except the room was so crowded now and people were starting to stare.

Sydney put her hand gently on his knee,

"It's ok. I accept the mistakes you made, but I can't be sure you won't make them again." She felt as though her tongue was plagued with poison, hearing her father's word slip out of her mouth. What was she doing?

Vaughn held in his anger. The anger at himself for being so utterly stupid in his life.

"If I could take those years back." His voice left him a little when he spoke, his heartache starting to blind him.

Sydney looked at him sadly. If only he could take away her pain, the pain he'd given her.

She squeezed his knee ever so slightly,

"But you can't" She nearly whispered.

Vaughn didn't know how he could prove to her just how willing he was to never make another mistake that would hurt the love of his life ever again. He needed her now more than he ever did, she was the most important thing in his life.

"I promise I will never hurt you again. I can never forgive myself for what I've done and now every day I try to make it better. I've tried so much to make you happy again Sydney. That's all I want."

She gave him a small, passionate smile. He couldn't help but melt a little inside. So maybe she wasn't going to give up on him just yet.

 _Talk to me honey…_

 _Sydney –_

 _As usual, he said the exact thing she wanted to hear. Eventually._ She could see the pain in his eyes as he told her he wanted to erase what he'd done. She couldn't possibly count the number of times he'd apologised in his own beautiful way.

She stared now at his jawline, seeing the layer of stubble that drove her crazy. She knew she had to try and get past this. Just thinking about leaving him made her want to cry and slam her fist on the table.

But still, she couldn't pretend she wasn't scared.

"We're good Vaughn." She said as she looked down at the table.

He saw her emotion and understood. They were together, but 'good' was not the appropriate term.

Jack suddenly made his way through the room to the front wall covered in screens.

He slammed the files on the table in front of him and starting pacing.

 _Brace yourselves everyone._

But what Jack would say next, would surprise them all.


	13. Of two minds

**AN:** Just a short chapter this time folks :)

 **Of two minds**

 _Sydney –_

She watched as Jack took a sharp inhale, looked to the floor then looked straight back at her.

He stabbed her with a look of uncertainty, a look that told her he was about to do something because of her.

She glanced at Vaughn, she could see the small beads of sweat slowly sliding from his forehead near his bruised eye. He'd already taken one beating today, she was quietly praying Jack wouldn't give him another.

"Sloane", was Jack's opening line. He spoke confidently and sounded ready to shout.

"You decided to ignore the mission and pretend you really were there to invest today didn't you?"

All eyes shot towards Sloane. His cold exterior was leaning against the closed door behind him. He often chose to stand over the rest of us during a briefing.

Even though it was clear that Jack was in charge, Sloane stood slowly and everyone could feel his oozing authority. His stench of assurance wafted Sydney, enough to make her clench.

She studied his face, but Sloane was no easy man to read.

A slight cough, and he finally responded. "Jack. Now, now. We've all had such a tough day. Poor Vaughn here - " he'd attempted to shift the spotlight by pointing to Vaughn's horrid black eye. Jack was not taking any of it however.

"No Sloane. No, this isn't this is going to go. I make the calls surrounding this mission and I feel your conduct showed absolutely no regard to the mission itself, or your fellow agents".

It was a hard sting of critique slapped on the table by Jack. He was doing his best to deliver his authority in the hope that Sloane would for once, 'sit back and take it'.

Sydney watched Jack then looked back at Sloane. It was as though a war was being fought between them, but only in their heads.

Sloane steadied himself by placing a hand upon the table, Dixon shuddering slightly at disgust as the hand lay rested beside him.

"You may be in charge for now, Agent Bristow, but you don't criticise me for a mission that clearly went overt due to one's action that was not mine".

He was kind of right. Sloane may have acted like a jerk and if he had tried to break free from the meeting room, he may have done some good. But his actions were not those that compromised the mission, a fact that everyone in that room was well aware of.

Sydney began to feel like she was standing on a stage with a harsh bright spotlight stinging her eyes. They were still staring at each other, but the blame had yet to have been convincingly moved.

 _Vaughn –_

So was Jack protecting him now or did he actually come here to have a go at Sloane? He didn't mind the attention being elsewhere for a while but he knew sooner or later all eyes would move to him.

To see Sloane get the blame would be pleasant, but ultimately everyone would know it was not the truth.

"Just quit this Jack. We're tired, we all want to go home on time so why not just get this over with." He suddenly said, his voice was calm and tired but not angry or forceful.

Jack looked surprised by Vaughn speaking up, but only slightly.

As Jack took his eye off Sloane and quickly looked down at his files again, Vaughn felt Sydney's hand squeeze on his knee. It was the most effective way to show any kind of affection in this transparent cage.

He stole a quick look at Sydney, whom had a look of readiness. She was ready to cut in as soon as Jack got too much. Vaughn appreciated Sydney acting so defensive of him, but he didn't like the idea of having Sydney get every word against Jack.

"Vaughn. You did make some risky errors in this mission" Jack began. He looked strangely cautious and was directing his attention strictly towards him and no one else.

 _He's toning it down for me._ Jack Bristow had been silenced. Nearly.

Vaughn wanted to smile and even do a dance of joy at the appearance that Sydney had actually got Jack off his back for once. But for now, he placed his hand over Sydney's and returned a thankful squeeze.

Jack continued, "You carried on with the mission, as I had asked which then caused our evacuation to be discarded." He took a small intake of breath and was about to continue when Sydney jumped in.

"Because I had stupidly gone to the computer room, therefore putting Vaughn's cover at risk." She sounded slightly pushy, but calm.

 _Oh Sydney. Please don't get angry._ Vaughn was scared she'd become infuriated with her father again and he'd hate for Sydney to make a scene.

 _Weiss –_

He watched as Sydney continued to look straight at Jack then back at Vaughn. She gave Jack a threatening glare, but subtle. She gave Vaughn a comforting slight smile.

Weiss had been spending a lot of time with Nadia lately so he was over at Sydney's apartment a hell of a lot. He always enjoyed spending evenings in with everyone. They'd order pizza and get drunk enough to say ridiculously funny things to each other.

Weiss would usually end up laughing by the pizza box as Nadia would get her coat to leave for his place or bowling. It was that time that Sydney and Vaughn would curl up on the sofa wrapped in a blanket and sleepily talk to one another.

He would see them rub noses and laugh silently at each other. Vaughn would wrap his arm around her and nuzzle his face into her neck and Sydney would curl up to him and rest her head against his chest.

They always looked so happy with each other. So content to be in the others presence. Even whilst drunkenly trying to play scrabble they would be sat close to each other and exchange kisses after a good word was placed.

Weiss always envied their relationship. He wanted one that full of love and happiness. Nadia was great and they were getting on really well, but they hadn't reached that stage yet.

He took this opportunity of momentarily silence so glance at Nadia beside him. Yes, she was great indeed.

Jack suddenly began speaking again.

"Sydney dammit". He spoke without raising his voice but he sounded annoyed and slightly angry still.

"The bio trackers were a surprise, yes." He then began to pace back and forth in front of them all.

"But still. By finding Vaughn you alerted the rest of us to the situation and therefore allowed us time to try and deal with it."

Sydney breathed in sharply and seemed to make herself slightly taller whilst still sitting down. She was quick to respond before Jack could continue,

"I alerted you all by falling unconscious and therefore completely useless, into the room we were trying to shift attention from".

 _Well when you put it like that Syd._ She appeared to be trying to soak up all the blame here. Weiss couldn't think why other than to try and protect Vaughn, but Jack seemed to have other plans in mind.

It was as though there was a hidden tension between them. Sydney must have spoken to Jack prior to the meeting. He seemed bound to ignore Vaughn's fault and yet wanted to not blame Sydney.

Weiss was kind of used to this by now. Sydney often steered from protocol yet she was always so good at it that the mission would rarely fail. For this reason Jack always seemed ridiculous when trying to discipline Sydney, yet he had to anyway.

The moment anyone else did something wrong however, Jack had no problem putting them back in their place.

He was kind of scary when he would point out the rules. Jack always kept that cold intimidating stare.

Sydney hadn't stopped staring at Jack with a 'matter of fact' expression. She was pushing him to write off that it was her fault and leave Vaughn alone.

Weiss knew Vaughn had messed things up a little when he'd refused to leave the room so caused more time in the building and risked his own safety. To Weiss and most likely anyone else other than Jack, it wasn't a big deal.

It had been dangerous and something to not do again, but the mission was a success and who was to blame for the chaos was not a prime aspect.

It appeared that Sydney had stunned Jack. He had nothing in response. You could see his brain ticking away trying to defend Sydney's actions.

Weiss saw as Vaughn's hand moved from Sydney's on his own lap, to the table top.

Vaughn stood up. _Uh oh._

"Jack." He stated, nodding at him to ask silently for permission to speak. Jack did nothing so Vaughn took his chance to address the room.

"I made a mistake of not taking a chance to get out and get Sydney out soon enough. The mess up was mine. Sorry guys"

Sydney smiled.


	14. The end of the day

**AN:** Just wanted to say thank you to all those reading and for all the reviews so far :) Really appreciate it.

 **At the end of the day**

 _Dixon –_

It was a stupid short-lived apology. Vaughn's voice seemed tired and still it was hard to look at him without resting your eyes on that badly bruised eye and red scar on his face.

No-one bothered to say anything in return as who was to blame for the mission did not make any difference at this point. This meeting was a courtesy to the CIA so that the higher up people always know exactly what conspired.

Sydney had smiled with an expression as much to say, 'what an idiot'. Weiss was still transfixed between the two, probably trying to see why they were acting so shifty.

Sloane had become bored a long time ago and simply remained rested against the door again, his head looking down at the floor and only briefly looking up at who was speaking.

Nadia had her usual look of concern slapped on her face. She was mainly looking at Vaughn, whom now looked like he would soon become rather angry.

Vaughn sat down again however, looking quite sheepish yet annoyed at everyone's apathy. His announcement had been more of a push in Jack's direction to get the meeting to its end.

Jack had kept looking at Vaughn. Now he'd sat down, Jack look gobsmacked. Well, in his own monotone way.

He cleared his throat. "Right well I think we'll just crack on and detail exactly what happened then". And that was what appeared to be the end of the blaming game.

"Vaughn, see me in my office afterwards please". He muttered.

 _An hour later –_

It had been fairly awkward once they'd reached the details of how exactly Vaughn and Sydney had been captured. It was news to Dixon that Sydney had had an allergic reaction.

Marshall had pipped in and stated how it's apparently very common. _I don't think so._

This had spread a speculation on whether Sydney's tracking device had been tampered with in order to sedate her or if it had been an actual bad reaction.

The incident in which Vaughn had been freed yet had stayed to free Sydney was played around very quickly before moving on to how they escaped.

Dixon thought that Vaughn's regard for protocol due to his fear for Sydney's safety, was rather kind of him. It was clear that they had a mutually caring relationship which had probably made it difficult for one to be freed to leave the other in danger for a short while.

They slowed the pace a little now as they explained how they had evacuated once Vaughn had been rescued.

"For which Dixon was a very reliable source. Thank you." Jack had said, without even looking at him. He meant it, but he was still trying to divert attention away from Sydney and Vaughn.

 _You didn't really need me._ It was true, they knew the building fairly well from observing blueprints earlier so Dixon was more of a 'shout if you're going the wrong way' guy. Not that he minded on this particular occasion.

He had faith in Sydney to resolve the slight mess up. He'd worked with Sydney for a few years now and one thing he would always admire her the most for, was her ability to improvise.

Whenever something went wrong, she would be back on the mission in a snap.

Sydney had tried to sneak in a few, 'if we'd done this' or 'but if I hadn't done that' but Jack was having none of it.

By the end of the debrief everyone was more than tired and desperate to get out of there. Weiss and Nadia had been instructed to help Sloane with the money and contacting the various companies involved.

Dixon had wrote his mission report fairly quickly as he wasn't involved in the most part of it and it did end pretty quickly itself.

He went to Sloane's office to see if he could be any help.

 _Sydney –_

She was fed up. Vaughn didn't exactly hold his hands up and admit fault but he might as well had. They knew the only person that would care was Jack. _Just do it for him, please._

If he could make it seem more of Sydney's fault, which she strongly believed it was, then Jack may actually forgive him and not hate him as much.

As soon as the mission was over Jack sped off to his office. Vaughn had been asked to join him but Sydney grabbed his arm and pulled him gently away to a darker corner where they had at least a little privacy.

"Vaughn. He thinks you're making a mistake with me. He wants to see you trip up so that he can have further reason to think you'll hurt me." She told him quietly, keeping her voice kind and looking at him with caring eyes.

He seemed fed up of the whole thing and she didn't blame him. He was likely a little scared at what jack would shout at him when he reached his office. Why couldn't she just take him home, _why?!_

She carried on staring up at him as he simply put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed his thumb against it.

"It's ok. As long as you don't think that I'm going to hurt you, I don't care anymore."

He'd said it whilst keeping eye contact. Sydney tried not to read him for the truth but being a highly skilled agent made it difficult.

She'd seen his expression and could tell although he meant most of it, he seemed not too sure on whether he still cared or not.

She understood his wariness of Jack. Jack had said cruel things in the past and he was an intimidating man with a lot of power. But Sydney still found it hard to see why he couldn't just honestly not care anymore.

"Ok. You'd better go." She replied after a long pause. She decided to let it drop. At least until Jack gave him grief again.

She leaned up and planted a warm kiss on his cheek. She desperately wanted to take him home and sooth his injuries. She hated seeing him in pain, and today he'd had it all. Physical and emotional.

 _Dixon –_

He'd seen Sydney lead Vaughn to their usual meeting corner. It was a corner that slipped behind the main transparent office but laid just behind the wall separating that part from the rest of APO.

He had seen as they'd shared a few words and Sydney had kissed him.

Something did not seem too right. They were acting like there was more at stake than a slightly messy mission.

He turned away and walked into Sloane's office. It was too large he thought. There were two large red sofas which they all usually congregated around during briefings.

Dixon could feel his hatred for the man before him. Still, after working for APO now for a few months, he'd still feel uneasy around Sloane.

"Can I help you Marcus?" He said without looking up. He was organizing some files whilst Nadia and Weiss were silently chatting to each other by the phone on the edge of his desk.

Dixon took a deep breath and walked in closer to the desk. Sloane still didn't look up.

"Is there anything I can be helping with?"

He never knew whether to add 'Sir' when addressing this monster.

Sloane finally looked up, but only for a second. He gave a short grin then returned to his papers whilst sitting at his office chair.

"Well Dixon. You should probably help Sydney with her report. I'm sure she has a lot to say".

Was he getting pleasure from the thought of how badly Sydney's part in the mission had gone?

She may have neglected her post and ended up potentially causing Vaughn's cover to be blown, _but it was not her fault._

Dixon simply nodded then returned to the centre of APO.

He looked around and saw Vaughn sat in Jack's large transparent office. Vaughn looked sad. Dixon had taken a liking to him, as he was a good agent and seemed to be a very good man.

Vaughn was kind and caring, a man that would protect the people he cared about to great lengths.

He was a guy that could be serious when he needed too and good at thinking of fast solutions. His specialty in the field was his great combat skills but also his ability to respond fast to situations.

But Dixon had spent a few nights over at Sydney's apartment and seen that Vaughn was one who could successfully divide his work life from his social life. He was fun to be around, he had a good sense of humour and would always make sure you were having a good time.

Right now however, he looked awfully sad. Dixon watched as Jack was sat behind his desk giving a lecture. He didn't appear angry but Jack didn't often show a lot of emotion.

"My dad's probably telling him that he should leave." Sydney said as she suddenly appeared behind Dixon's shoulder.

He turned slightly so he could still see Vaughn but could look at Sydney as well.

"Why would he do that?" He didn't understand what had happened between them all.

Sydney wore a sad smile. She was trying to remain calm about it all and was clearly more worried than she was letting on.

"Let's just say my dad hates competition." She said as she didn't take her eyes from Vaughn and her father.

"I'm supposed to help you with your report." Dixon decided to not push the issue as Sydney didn't appear in a mood to share right now.

He noticed her face contort into confusion as she turned to face him. She was a very beautiful woman, whom Dixon usually enjoyed talking too but he knew Sydney was having a bad day and this wasn't going to make it any easier.

"I can handle my report Dixon. Who told you to do that?" She wasn't being mean. She felt threatened by the thought that someone would be thinking of her as incapable. Especially seeing as that would be the last word to describe her by.

Dixon knew her, he knew that she would never accept help unless extremely necessary.

"Of course Syd. But a lot happened, perhaps you'd like me to help you go over the details one more time?" He didn't much care about the report himself. He didn't mind helping Sydney but the mission was over and he wanted to go home as much as he could feel Sydney's desperation to leave also.

She gave him an appreciative smile, "well thanks Dixon, but I've basically finished it anyway. I was taking a break as frankly I'm getting fed up with revisiting the whole thing again and again."

She wondered her eyes over to Vaughn again as she spoke. Dixon guessed she probably wasn't just talking about the mission.


	15. The desperate truth

**The desperate truth**

 _Sydney –_

She'd had to stay in the office for hours to finish her ridiculous report which she had nowhere near finished even after telling Dixon she had.

She knew Dixon wasn't being rude offering help, but she had become rather angry. She never did like people telling her what to do.

She'd looked at Sloane enough to see him typing away at his desk and making numerous phone calls. She liked to keep an eye on him.

She watched from her desk that was strangely situated against a wall that faced nearly the entire floor of APO.

Only Sloane and Jack had private offices and Vaughn's desk had been moved into a room with actual walls and not transparent ones last summer.

Dixon had taken a slightly more senior role since starting APO so he also had a small office that was out of view.

Nadia's, Weiss's and Sydney's desks however were in an open room that opened onto the main floor of APO.

Sydney had complained many times as she didn't like to feel so exposed. She preferred being able to curl up at her desk and take a couple of naps after a mission, followed by a work out at the APO gym.

But being so open, if she ever left her desk; people would know. If she fell off to sleep; people would know.

Therefore the only good thing about the desk was its perfect spot to keep a lookout at everyone else. If they were going to clearly see her, she was going to clearly see them.

Upon almost having her report finished, Nadia and Weiss had gone home. Dixon must have found some work to do as she kept seeing him repeatedly walking across the floor to grab coffee, and Marshall was still napping in his technical office.

Sydney was beginning to consider hurriedly leaving before anyone would notice and continuing her report at home, despite being against the rules, when Vaughn finally left Jack's office.

He looked beyond worn out and now his bruise looked even more severe.

Seeing him made her heart pang. He looked so lost and she knew it was all her own father's doing.

Well, mostly.

She got up from her desk immediately and practically ran towards him as he went into his office.

He nearly shut the door in her face as he was so involved in his own thoughts. She quickly opened the door and shut it again firmly as she watched him dump some papers on his desk then turn to face her.

There was a long pause. She noticed he didn't seem in a sharing mood, he looked way too tired anyway.

So she spoke first.

"Vaughn? You were in there ages." She remained calm.

Frankly, she felt like she could cry yet at the same time, she felt like smashing down the desk.

Her father had made the man she loved, this beautiful man in front of her who would stop at nothing to make her happy, her own father had made him feel worthless.

He looked at her now with a face of passion and upset. This was a man that had fought so hard to regain happiness after making his biggest mistake, to have it suddenly fade away.

Whatever her father had said, Sydney knew that she was not prepared to let Vaughn go. She had no intention of letting him slip away again, even if they did eventually break up she wanted more than anything to have another chance with the man she loved.

"Vaughn speak to me". She was getting impatient now, his face revealed that whatever her father had said was not good.

The question now was whether Jack had done enough to put Vaughn off.

If he had, she was ready to go at him, full force.

 _Vaughn –_

So that was it. Jack had kept him in his office for an hour and a half.

Jack had remained completely calm the entire time. He'd been the one speaking for the most of it whilst Vaughn had sat clenching his fists.

Jack had warned Vaughn that marrying Lauren had been his last chance. He was not forgiven. Jack did not appreciate anything he had to offer Sydney after abandoning her.

He could see there was nothing left to say. Sydney had been convinced she'd silenced him and for the debrief Vaughn himself had dared to belief it too.

He could have sat there and tell Jack just how much he loved and cherished his daughter. He could have tried to convince Jack that the only plans he had for his future were with Sydney. He could have told Jack all the ways he planned to make her the happiest woman alive. But he didn't.

He was standing there in front of the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and now facing a decision he did not think he would have to make.

Jack had made a proposition that would result in him never seeing Sydney again if he wanted any kind of peace.

He'd taken a large swig of his tea and looked Vaughn cold in the eyes.

"If you don't break up with my daughter on your own accord, then I'm going to make sure you never set a foot near her again."

He'd tried to avoid Sydney once he'd left Jack's office. He had hoped that slamming his office door would tell her to stay away but she was too quick. She still cared about him after all he'd done.

He needed time to think. It wasn't a decision he could make easily.

On one hand, he could fight for Sydney. He could go against Jack's wishes and fight to be with her again. But Jack had detailed just how hard that would be.

He'd remained completely still, holding his cold stare and relayed his vicious plan.

"I can have you transferred with a flick of my wrist. I will have you across this country before you come into work next morning. You'll be forced to move home, make a new life somewhere else. Somewhere, where you won't see Sydney again."

Vaughn had made sure to give him a look of disgust. So Jack was now abusing his power to get rid of him because of his childish disapproval of his daughter's boyfriend?

Yet however he looked at it, it was a serious threat. Maybe Jack wouldn't pull through. There was a chance in Vaughn's mind that Jack would decide not to go through with it after hearing how mad Sydney would be. Perhaps he wouldn't do it because he'd come to his senses that even if he did then another poor guy would just replace him soon enough.

He had to know he couldn't just vanish away any man that got near Sydney. Surely he wasn't that blind.

The problem was that Jack still sees Sydney as his little girl who needs protecting. He sees Vaughn's success in keeping her safe and feels jealous and unworthy.

"I love her" was all Vaughn had said the entire time. It did not manage however to even begin to penetrate Jack's hard exterior.

"Vaughn?!" She raised her voice slightly.

He looked at her. Really looked. He saw the fear in Sydney's eyes and he saw her upset.

She would hate Vaughn if he choice to give up on her, but she would never see him again if he tried to stay.

Jack's position made it incredibly possible for Vaughn to shipped away somewhere else in a heart beat.

Vaughn needed to think.

He cleared his throat.

"Do you love me?" He asked her, quietly.

She first looked surprised then she gave him her loving eyes and put her hand on his shoulder. She felt warm and Vaughn had to fight the urge even harder to just take her away there and then.

"Of course I do." She replied sympathetically.

But he needed to be sure, he needed to know that taking a chance on them would be worthwhile. The possibility of failing to keep her and ending up far away from her was too much to risk if they didn't stay together.

"No. I mean really. Do you really love me? After everything I did to you, after marrying another woman. After hurting you. Are we going to be ok? Do you honestly love me enough to stay by me after all this time?"

It hurt him even just saying those words. He didn't want to believe he'd ever had to ask her after everything they'd been through. But he had hurt her, and that was never going to go away.

She looked hurt too, her eyes starting to look a little teary. She pulled her hand away and stood straight in front of him. It was like she was standing up in court.

She looked him in the eyes which caused his stomach to ache. He saw in that moment the emotion and heartache she harboured.

She took a breath, then,

"Michael. You did hurt me in the past." She knew if she wanted to get through to him then calling him by his first name was the best way. It sent chills down his spine hearing her call him that.

"You gave up on me then. You gave up on us." She was talking calmly, always keeping eye contact.

 _I know, I know,_ he thought painfully. He still stood by his reasons and he knew some explanations for the past couple of years did not go done well with Sydney. But one thing they could agree on, was that he'd caused her upset.

She continued,

"But that does not mean I'm going to give up on us now. I do love you. I love you more than anything." She took a sharp intake. The pain of her emotions were stabbing her words.

"We found each other again. After all that happened we managed to get back to each other. I know our current relationship hasn't been the same as before. I know that things between us are different now, but I still feel the same way I always have about you." She looked deeper into his eyes.

He felt paralysed. He couldn't break her stare, this woman in front of him was pouring out her feelings and he could do nothing but take every single one.

"What happened was in the past. And I don't care about it anymore" She had raised her voice again slightly and started speaking more clearly and faster.

"I don't care about what you did. It's what you do now that I care about. You know why? Because this is the time that's going to determine our future, not the past. I don't care about all that, I just want you to want this as much as I do, now".

He watched as a tear fell down her cheek.

 _Sydney –_

She watched as a tear fell down his cheek.

Her anger and emotion had come out of nowhere. She had been ready to give him a thought out speech about how much she loved him and that her father was a jerk, when this wave of pain and desperation had bolted her.

What she had said had been the truth. The desperate truth that had slapped Vaughn in the face and was now waiting for his reply.

He looked so weary and now that single tear fell onto his shirt.

She watched as he appeared paralysed, like something was stopping him from speaking.

Her anger boiled up. She was angry that her father was taking him away from her. She was angry that this man who deserved none of it was now struggling to hold on.

"Don't you dare" She said to him. She could feel him ready to give up on her completely. She could sense the misery on his face and felt like she could see his thoughts telling him to leave.

"We can fight him together. I'll be here, I'll be with you and together we can show that arsehole that he cannot come between us." Her words were starting to sound alien to her. She was clinging on so desperately, overwhelmed with emotion and she was hating every minute of it. She needed to be in control.

Finally, he took a large sigh and spoke at last,

"Sydney Bristow. I want to spend the rest of my life with you".

He spoke saddened and quietly. But his words still hit her.

She didn't know what was going to happen. Her life potentially hung on the shoulders of this one man.

Was that it?

"Sydney. I need to be alone for a bit. I'm sorry."

She was stunned. She couldn't read him other than the obvious fact he was hurting.

Had he decided? What on earth did Jack say to him.

She left his office and wiped away her few tears. Dixon was stood looking at her questionably but Sydney's eyes were fixed at Jack's almighty figure standing tall at the door of his office.


	16. One moment

**One moment**

 _Vaughn –_

It had taken him one moment to decide whether he was going to fight for Sydney or not.

It was the precise moment she'd said ' _Because this is the time that's going to determine our future, not the past'._

 _Our future._ She'd denied the past and admitted to him that she saw a future with him.

That was the moment he decided that he was going to do whatever it takes to spend the rest of his moments in the company of the woman he loved.

Sydney Bristow did not talk about the future. She never mentioned anything that would be occurring in the future unless it was the result of a mission.

Yet she'd been thinking about the future, with him.

He sat at his desk and started up his laptop. He'd need a plan, and a good one at that.

 _Jack –_

As soon as he saw Sydney leave Vaughn's office he knew he needed to leave APO.

He did not want to sit around waiting for her to come and attack his actions.

He made eye contact with her as she stood at the door of Vaughn's office. She looked sad but mainly angry, and the anger was seemingly making its way toward him.

He diverted her attention by quickly motioning Dixon, also nearby, to come to him.

Dixon approached Jack, but Jack waited a moment before he said anything as he watched Sydney go back to her own desk.

He proceeded to ask Dixon to make sure Sydney's report was finished then to talk to Vaughn.

Jack was sure that Vaughn was still thinking his offer over privately. He'd told Vaughn not to tell Sydney about what he had told him and also that he needed to decide before tomorrow afternoon.

Judging by Sydney's current appearance, he had yet to decide.

As soon as Dixon left his office, Jack went straight home as quickly as he could. He did not want a scene. Especially in his place of work where he is to be respected.

Sitting down on his couch with a glass of scotch, Jack waited patiently for the storm.

 _Sydney –_

So Dixon had offered his help yet again.

It was clear to her now that people were using poor Dixon to keep herself occupied.

Jack had moved from his office some time ago which made Sydney worried. She was worried he'd arranged something involving this mess about Vaughn, but also in case he had decided to go home.

Sydney was determined to let her father know just how angry she was, but she wasn't sure yet how she could in a way that would truly get through to a man with so many walls.

 _An hour later –_

She had at last managed to finish her report. It had taken her nearly three times longer than any other reports from a mission that size.

Dixon had apologised numerous times as he was aware that she felt rather stupid and childish being watched over by him.

"I've finished" She told him. He got up from a desk chair nearby and took the file she handed him.

But he didn't leave yet, he gave her a look of concern.

"Sydney. What is exactly going on here? I'm no fool" she could sense the hint of sadness in his voice. Sydney guessed it was probably because he was feeling like she couldn't trust him. Which was wrong.

"I don't think you'd want to get involved Dixon. It's a personal thing, something ridiculous actually. Maybe our evil lord will finally let you go home and get some rest." She answered whilst slowly standing from her desk and motioning towards the clear view of Sloane in his office.

Dixon gave a small smile at Sydney's persistent attitude towards Sloane. She did like that there was someone else in this department that despised him perhaps as much as she did.

He left to hand in the report at an office downstairs whilst Sydney decided whether she should go home.

She took a visual sweep of the office. Vaughn's door was still closed which make her want to run at it and slam it open. He could be thinking all sorts of things in there yet she was stuck out here without any say in it.

She needed to take him home. To their home.

He hadn't officially moved in yet, but Sydney had planned on asking him soon depending on how it all went. She still believed that things were going well even after Vaughn's shakiness because of her father.

Sloane was on the phone at his desk and Sydney could see Dixon packing his things to leave. _Maybe I should just go home._

Dixon walked over to her and gave her a wide smile.

"Goodnight Sydney. I hope you sort things out" He said as he tapped her shoulder then left. She watched dazed as he walked down the arched hallway and then out the door.

She was beginning to feel nauseous and kind of dizzy. She needed to go home and relax a while before she could sort things out.

 _A couple hours later_

 _Vaughn –_

He was breathing rapidly. He'd pulled his car up outside Sydney's apartment and been sitting for the last five minutes.

He couldn't even pin point what exactly was going on inside his mind.

This time yesterday everything was running smoothly. He was back with Sydney and they were taking things slowly. He was enjoying spending time with her again and being with Weiss and Nadia was a great alternative to the last couple of years.

The truth was, after Lauren and practically being on his own for a year, Vaughn was ready to be part of something meaningful. Being with a woman he actually loved and considered as one of his best friends, was that indeed.

He secretly loved more than he let on, being around his friends again. Every night spent with them was precious to him now, even if it was on a long haul flight back from some horrid mission.

Being with Sydney was the only way he could try and get his live back on track. She was his anchor in this mad world of espionage.

He finally plucked up the courage to stand outside her front door. He had the plan he knew would be his best chance at keeping Sydney close.

But he couldn't be sure it would work, and he had no idea how she'd react.

Was she mad at him? Did she still want to be with him? He kept questioning himself.

He did know however, that Sydney had confessed her feelings towards him and he did believe that she was in fact in love with him too.

He still found it hard to imagine just quite how after everything.

He knocked on the door and a sleepy looking Nadia answered, dressed in a little black dress and her hair tied up.

"Oh. Hey" She said cheerily with a welcoming smile.

"Oh sorry, I thought you'd be at Weiss's, hah." He kind of panicked. He needed to talk to Sydney alone but if she was mad then she'd likely use Nadia as a safety wall.

"I'm going there now actually. We're going to the movies. Are you ok?" He was still in the doorway.

"I need to speak to Syd" He tried not to seem so serious in front of Nadia but he was getting panicky about what limited time he had.

She smiled and stepped aside for him to come in. He took his suit jacket off and placed it on the usual peg then said goodbye to Nadia.

The house was incredibly quiet. Sydney was not in the living room or the kitchen so he made his way to her bedroom.

As he entered, he saw her perched on the end of her bed with her head resting in one hand and the other holding a pill bottle.

"Oh my god, Sydney are you ok?" She didn't look bad, but he was surprised to see her looking defeated.

She looked up and gently threw the bottle back on the bed and sat up to see him. She looked very tired.

"Headache." She said with a slightly croaky voice.

He pulled a chair over in front of where she was at the edge of the bed and sat in front of her.

"Hey" he said softly.

She gave him a small smile then looked at him in waiting for his explanation.

"I can't tell you why yet, but we have to leave in the next half hour."

She looked shocked, suddenly sitting up taller and begging him to explain more.

"Vaughn?"

He knew she would be anxious so he'd prepared what he was going to say.

"If you don't leave with me now, I can never be with you again. If you want this, if you want us then you have to come with me." He took a pause and examined her reaction,

"We'll be back shortly. It'll only be for a short while. Then, when we come back everything will be sorted. You were right Sydney, Jack cannot come between us".

She didn't even look confused like he'd expected. She gave him a serious look then once she'd seemingly decided he was being serious also, she simply got up and pulled her suitcase from under the bed.

"Ok. Where are we going?"


	17. The long haul

**The long haul**

 _Weiss –_

He was sat on the bench watching as Nadia threw the bowling ball with determination. They were very competitive at bowling, it was true. But tonight, Weiss wasn't really feeling it.

Nadia did a little victory dance and laughed at Weiss as she came to the bench and propped herself beside him.

"Your go!" She chanted. She was very enthusiastic tonight, Weiss had been on the losing end pretty much from the beginning.

He gave her a half fake smile and chose his ball. He gave a forceful swing and watched as the ball sped down the bowling lane, hitting 3 skittles in total. He heard Nadia laugh behind him.

He enjoyed seeing her happy, they'd only been dating for a short while but he knew for sure that he could make her happy more often than not.

Nadia always found his jokes funny and even managed some great comebacks. She was incredibly fun to be around, but Weiss was starting to feel a little edgy.

He knew something was up at APO. He'd had a quiet talk with Dixon after the debriefing, and Dixon had sensed it too.

He was hoping that Sydney and Vaughn weren't going to argue again. It was horrible when they fought, the whole world seems to go to a standstill.

Once they'd had an argument after Sydney had come back from a mission in Prague with a huge bruise on her neck. She'd been cagey about the whole ordeal and told Vaughn it was nothing.

Weiss knew this was what ticked Vaughn off the most. Vaughn had ranted and raved to his best friend about Sydney's disregard for her wellbeing, an awful lot. Vaughn couldn't bare seeing her act so carelessly when her life was in danger.

They'd shouted at each other for ages that night. Nadia had invited Weiss to stay so they were both sat paralysed on the couch not knowing whether to leave or stay in case things got worse.

Sydney had started throwing things at Vaughn then slammed open the door and sped off into the night in his car.

It'd been a nightmare after that as Vaughn was on edge for hours until she arrived back, only to completely blank everyone.

Vaughn had told them she'd shouted at him for trying to get too involved in her injuries. She hated people being sympathetic towards her or taking care of her.

The few days afterwards they hadn't spoken to each other and the whole of APO had felt cold and quiet. They both looked dreadful too. But, after they finally made up they both went back to normal.

Weiss chuckled to himself as he remembered walking in expecting a mopey Sydney only to catch them together.

But it felt more than just a falling out this time. Dixon had said Sydney mentioned that Jack wanted Vaughn to leave, so maybe this was more than just a spat between the couple.

He took his second bowl then sat back at the bench. Nadia just got off the phone and looked at him concerned.

"Eric, I just got a call from Jack." She told him, placing her hand on his knee.

"He wanted to know where Vaughn and Sydney are, like it was really important." She looked confused, wondering why Jack was after them.

Weiss got more worried then. What were they doing?

 _Sydney –_

Vaughn was in the restroom at the back of the plane. He'd taken her to one of the CIA's private planes and had somehow managed to secure a pilot and crew member.

She'd yet to question him fully as she was scared she'd anger him. He seemed awfully tense and anxious.

He came out of the restroom and sat opposite her on one of the smooth leather seats. There was a small table between them.

She simply smiled reassuringly at him and tried to remain completely calm as to soothe his nerves. She knew he'd explain everything soon, although if he did wait any longer she would have to speak up…

 _Vaughn –_

He hadn't bothered covering up his tracks. He knew Jack would probably already be on to them after he'd openly hired a plane.

He'd had to pay a considerable fee to persuade the pilot to fly on his days off, but it would be worth it. Jack needed to know, their departure needed to be noticed.

Sydney was being incredibly compliant. She was being perfectly calm and putting her trust in him completely. He needed that, too.

He sat quietly for a minute and looked at her sat across from him. She was wearing a black sweater with black jeans. She always looked good in black, he thought.

He'd made her a coffee shortly after the take-off but he was starting to crave one himself,

"Another coffee?" he asked her.

She gave him a weird look.

"Come on Vaughn. I've waited long enough haven't I?"

Without thinking, he got up and grabbed her empty mug to take to the back for a refill. But once he was stood next to her seat she placed her hand against his knee.

"Vaughn. I wasn't talking about the coffee."

He looked down at her, seeing her eyes begging for his explanation. He knew she wouldn't last much longer without not knowing where they were going, or even why.

"Ok" Was all he said as he put the mug back down and resumed sitting in the chair opposite her.

"Just hear me out, ok?" He asked. He was nervous as to how she'd react, especially seeing as though she was already on the plane.

She nodded in reply and gave him that sweet caring smile. He always struggled to give her bad news after she looked at him like that.

"I know this all sounds incredibly stupid, but I couldn't think of any other way to do this." He made sure to look her in the eyes the whole time. He wanted her to see how much he'd thought about Jack's offer.

"Your father gave me no choice but to either leave APO and LA completely, or stay away from you for good."

She dropped the smile instantly and looked both furious and surprised.

"How dare he?! What did he say to you?!" She was angry alright, but she didn't shout, just spoke with her voice louder than normal.

"Sydney, please. Hear me out" he begged her. He couldn't go through this when what they were about to do could potentially be far worse.

She tried to remain silent, but it lasted all of two seconds.

"Vaughn! We are not going to fake our deaths are we?"

 _Jack –_

 _So that's what he's going to do, well we'll see how far he gets,_ he thought to himself as he stabbed the screen of his mobile dialling Weiss's cell.

He was now beyond furious as he'd found out that Vaughn had hired out a plane and was seen entering it with Sydney and two large suitcases. _If he thinks he's going to take her away from me, then he has another thing coming._

Weiss picked up his phone,

"Jack? Hey, I'm here with Nadia so I hear you're looking for Vaughn and Syd? What's up?" He sounded too joyful and careless as usual. Jack didn't have many thoughts or feelings regarding Eric Weiss, but he did find his humorous approach to things very annoying at times.

"I need to find out where they are going and you're going to tell me right now" He gave up trying to sound remotely professional and decided the best way of getting information from this man was to scare him.

"Erm, Jack I'm afraid I have no idea what you're on about. I haven't heard from either of them since the debriefing." He sounded genuine, but Jack was used to that.

"Now listen here Agent Weiss. If you know where they are going and you're not telling me, you can say goodbye to your active field status and say hello to the desk job."

It was a stupid threat for a man of Jack's authority, but what else could he do to this man. Weiss was a good enough agent and they're hardly replaceable these days.

"Ok, ok. Jack, I'm serious; I don't know where they are."

They both paused in silence,

"Jack, I didn't even realise they weren't at home."

He sounded desperate and a little worried so Jack believed his mild threat had gotten through to him, so he was likely telling the truth.

Suddenly a rustling sound began on Weiss's side of the phone and Nadia's voice came through,

"Jack, I just remembered, I saw Vaughn earlier at Sydney's place. He asked me where Sydney was then I let him in. I left for bowling so I haven't seen them since."

Jack reviewed this information in his mind. _So this wasn't Sydney's idea._

"Thank you" was all he said then he hung up straight away. Well if this was all Vaughn's doing then Jack still had one card up his sleeve before he needed to go to the extremes.

 _Weiss –_

 _What a polite man, hah_ Weiss thought sarcastically. He locked his phone and looked up at Nadia on the bench.

"What was that all about?" he asked her, even though he knew she knew no more than he did.

"I wasn't aware anything had happened till he rung me earlier" she replied, they were both puzzled.

She looked down at her hands,

"I don't see any reason why they'd just run off like that. You don't think Sydney would just leave without telling me do you?" She sounded hurt. Nadia had lived in an orphanage most of her life and was enjoying having a sister immensely. Sydney and Nadia got along very well and had really started to feel like a proper family lately.

Weiss cupped her hands with his.

"Of course not. And I don't see why they'd leave me in the dark either. They're probably taking a vacation to escape this mad world of espionage, haha" He tried making her laugh. It failed, but she did seem to cheer up a little.

He was getting a little anxious as Vaughn was his best friend and it didn't make sense as to why he wouldn't keep him in the loop. He assumed therefore that it must be something serious going on.

 _Sydney –_

Those last few seconds felt like years. _Has he gone crazy? Why did I trust him? Have I just run away with a mad man?! Why do I always chose the crazy ones?_

"Sydney! Of course we're not faking our deaths, my god" He laughed at her suggestion yet still looked fidgety.

He was looking pretty bad now, his bruise blacker then before and his clothes were creased from a brief nap earlier. His small line of stubble was growing ever so slightly.

She needed to take him home and make things right again. This was all so stupid, she knew that and so did him. She hoped.

He put his head in his hands and sighed, then rubbed his chin with his hand. Usually she loved when he did that, it made him look so warm and inviting. But now wasn't the time, this wasn't some romantic holiday. _Unfortunately._

He looked at her with pleading eyes and told her everything as she bit on her tongue to stay quiet.

"Sydney. We're going to stay in France for a while until your father decides whether or not I can come back." He looked at her then with an examining look. She tried to remain emotionless till he'd finished however, he always tried to read her response and most of the time he was good at it.

"I have a house there, from my Auntie. She says we can take all the time we need. The thing is Sydney, I can't stay in LA with you until your father decides he can act like a grown up about the whole thing" He'd taken a risk talking about Jack like that, usually Vaughn was over cautious about sounding respectful towards him.

Vaughn's anger at him was starting to really show.

"But if you're here with me it'll show him that you want this too, that this isn't just me trying to not be lonely or whatever it is he thinks. If you're here I might actually be able to convince him that I care about you and that I will never hurt you again. He can't move me away whilst I'm out of the country."

It sounded quite silly when she first heard it. So Vaughn's plan was to hide in France and negotiate acceptance from her father whilst being miles away from him.

"I want you to tell him that you won't come back and stay at APO until he promises to let me stay there and prove myself to him."

 _So there's the pincher._ He was using her as bait.

She waited a little to make sure he'd done. He stared at her with those gorgeous green eyes and she took a deep breath trying to soak it all in.

"You're using me as bait to gain my father's blessings?" She commented. She couldn't decide whether she felt comfortable with this yet.

He sighed and looked at the floor,

"I know it sounds stupid Sydney but he'll listen to you. And not only will he listen to you but he'll stop at nothing to keep you near. If Jack knows that you're serious about us and that sending me away could mean sending you away too, then he might finally let us be. Don't you see Sydney? This isn't about his blessings, this is about getting him off my back. He can't touch us while we're miles away, as long as I'm in France I don't have to move from LA."

She saw the anger aimed at her now. He needed her to play along otherwise by the look of him, he might just lose it.

She knew she needed to do this too, perhaps. Her father would take that threat seriously and she knew that Vaughn would never force her to actually leave. He was a good man and this all showed, deep down just how much he wanted to be with her again.

She couldn't take all the talk anymore, she needed this all to blow over now.

She stood up and squeezed onto the seat next to him then placed her arms around him. He'd looked surprised and cautious, perhaps expecting her to be mad at him.

"It's going to be fine" She told him as she placed a kiss on his head and pulled him close. He eventually gave in and his body sighed against hers. This was a man in need of rest.

Besides, a week or so in France didn't sound too bad, in fact it didn't sound bad at all.


	18. When things get tough

**AN: Ok, I am so so sorry about how long it's taken to update this story. I just moved back to Uni and it's all been very busy busy, plus there was that error with logging in which slowed things down a bit. I was going to extend this chapter and add the next part of the story but seeing as it's been so long, I ended it sooner so I could get it out there for you all. More excitement to come soon, I promise. Thanks for reading! x**

 **When things get tough**

 _Jack -_

He was staring at a screen that showed a flashing blue light over a map. It was their plane. Or Vaughn's plane as Jack told himself.

Sydney wouldn't be stupid enough to trust that man, surely?

He had his phone ready in his hand, Sydney's name and number on the screen ready to be dialled. But not just yet, he was waiting till the plane was over the ocean.

Dixon entered the room, they were in Jack's office at APO. It was now 11pm which left only the senior members of staff and the technician crews.

Jack had come back to APO after he'd received the Intel that Vaughn had hired the plane.

The light slowly made its way over America. They'd taken a longer route that meant more time above land. Perhaps that was in case Sydney changed her mind?

Dixon stood beside Jack and looked at the screen.

"Erm, Jack? Is there something going on?" he asked.

"Dixon, that light is Agents Vaughn and Bristow fleeing the country. It would appear Vaughn doesn't want to leave this little division of ours" Jack replied.

Dixon was notably confused, he frowned then looked closer at the map.

"I don't understand. Why are they leaving?"

"Because Dixon, I told Vaughn that he needed to leave APO. Looks like he'd rather get into a lot of trouble then leave quietly" Jack told him. He was trying to keep his cold, authoritive exterior but he was getting angrier just looking at the screen and Dixon's questions were bothering him.

"But Jack, why does Vaughn need to go? He's one of our best agents, I don't understand".

Dixon's response made Jack clench his fists, he was going to get Sydney back and when he did, Vaughn was going to be on the next flight out of here if it killed him.

"Because he has a stupid idea in his head that he's in love with my daughter"

 _Sydney –_

Her phone started buzzing. She struggled to get it out of her bag but when she did she saw the caller id.

"Hello? Weiss?" she answered it.

Weiss breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Finally Syd! I've been calling for the past ten minutes"

"Sorry, I was sleeping. What do you know?"

"Syd, Jack called me and told me everything. Well ok, not everything but he told me that you had fled in a plane with Vaughn and boy is he mad".

She looked over at Vaughn who was reading something on his tablet. For the first time since she left with him, she realised she had no clue what was going to happen. She looked at Vaughn for the first time in a while, and saw a man who she couldn't figure out. A man who was driven on passion which was blinding his sense of reality.

"Weiss? I need you to stay on standby, ok?"

"Standby? Syd, tell me what's going on, are you in trouble?"

She paused for a moment. Maybe it was the right time to go back, maybe Vaughn would understand. This was a little far-fetched after all. Wasn't it?

She lingered in the moment as she watched Vaughn look up from his tablet and give her a reassuring smile then a confused look as he noticed she was on her phone.

"I will ring you later Weiss. Please don't worry about us, we're fine".

She hung up and linked eye contact with Vaughn. He looked anxious again and he was still no less tense then before.

"Weiss is worried Vaughn. My father knows what's happening and he sounds mad" she took a breath to continue but Vaughn interrupted her,

"No, Syd that was what we needed. I need Jack to know that we're fleeing so he can see that you don't want me to leave. He needs to see how committed you really are".

She was trying desperately to maintain her faith in him and carry on seeing this all as his way of saving their relationship, but he was starting to sound… crazy.

"Vaughn, don't you think this is a little too much? If we go back now, we can show my father what we were planning on doing and he'll probably change his mind" she didn't believe that, but she did believe that returning to LA wouldn't mean saying goodbye to Vaughn.

He looked like she'd just thrown a rock at him, however.

"I love you too Vaughn, and I don't want you to leave but this can't be the only way to get my father to see sense. I know him better than you do, perhaps I could talk to him." She needed him to calm down, but all that she could say were words against him.

He looked down at the floor with his head inbetween his knees and gave a sigh.

"Sydney. Your father needs me to prove to him that I care about you. In his mind, the only way to do that was for me to leave. This is more than our relationship now, this is about me showing Jack that he cannot control me, that if I want to be with you, then I can".

She sunk it all in. He was scared of Jack manipulating him for the rest of his life. She was too tired to argue now, but she knew after all that he was right in some ways. Jack wasn't going to leave him alone even if he did agree to. This gesture perhaps was elaborate, but maybe Vaughn was right, maybe that is exactly what Jack needs to see…

 _Weiss –_

"What the hell?! This is not what I wanted to see!" Jack shouted at Marshall.

Weiss watched as Jack was furious after receiving a detailed military plan of the air flight from Los Angeles to Europe.

"I asked for the last known coordinates" he yelled. Marshall made a sound like a squeak and ran out of Jack's office.

Jack's furious face whipped around and contacted with Weiss's stare.

"Yes?!" he asked, sounding annoyed.

Jack usually only had one emotional setting, which was the over used flat tones professional speak. Sometimes, when that wasn't in use, he'd be either one of two things. Either happy or incredibly, out of this world, infuriated.

Weiss resisted the urge to run none the less, and walked slowly closer into his office.

"I want to know what's going on… They're my friends so I'd appreciate the low down" he regretted saying 'low down' the moment he'd said it.

"The low down?!" Jack spat back at him.

Weiss decided to look at the floor instead,

"Yes sir. Are they in danger Sir?"

There was a pause. It was now six O'clock in the morning so most workers were piling in to the modern bright establishment of APO, most of whom had likely had a decent amount of sleep; unlike Jack, who looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"I need you to leave now agent Weiss" he replied, quieter this time.

He didn't bother to attempt to get his answer, he knew when to leave things alone.

 _Guess I'll have a word with Marshall then._

 _Vaughn –_

It had been a long few hours in the air. They were now entering over Spain.

Sydney had been sleeping most the time as it had been a tiring mission for them at the bank, on top of their flight from China. He liked watching her sleep, but ever since those two years with the covenant she'd been having terrible nightmares so he was always on edge when her eyes were closed.

Every time he even considered waking up without her beside him, he knew why he was doing this crazy scheme to get Jack to leave him alone. He wanted Sydney more than anything.

She began to stir so he sat further on the edge of the seat, waiting to have to wake her from a horrid dream. He could see little beads of sweat emerging on her forehead and her arms squeezing around her more tightly.

He sat on the chair next to her, her back facing him, just as she began to murmur. He knew by now that this was how they started.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently. She relaxed into him as she felt his presence. Her eyes, slowly opened.

"I was just about to wake up" she said softly, still sleepy.

He leaned closer, "I thought you were going to have a nightmare" he told her.

She moved away and sat up, studying his concern. She unwrapped the blanket that she'd been sleeping in and threw it over the chairs so it rested on both of them.

She leaned back in the chair and got comfy leaning in next to Vaughn who'd wrapped the blanket around his shoulder and followed Sydney by leaning into the chair facing her.

She smiled up at him and stroked his arm under the blanket.

"I appreciate what you're doing Vaughn. I'm so lucky to have you, you know that?" she spoke quietly and rested.

He felt warm and content for the first time in a while. Their relationship had been shaky after they'd started seeing each other again the second time around.

They'd had some great moments, but still weren't as close as they had been. Things were different, but Vaughn was starting to see that that wasn't such a bad thing after all. He believed, from looking down at her right now, that they could be better than before. That all the love he has for this woman was not going to ever go away.

He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, and gently played with her hair. He wanted to stay like this forever.

"Once this is all over, we're going to go on a proper holiday. Just you and me. I'm going to things right Sydney, and I'm going to show you just how much I want this."

He planted a warm kiss on her forehead and then rested his on hers.

They stayed in that moment for a while longer before changing into different clean clothes and sorting out something to eat. They still had a few hours before they'd reach France.

Sydney finished her sandwich and sat across from Vaughn.

"I want you to know that I have faith in you Vaughn. Forget what I said before, if this is what you think you need to do, then I'm staying right here with you. Ok?" She still looked uncertain, but Vaughn valued her efforts. She was going to stand by him, and right now, that's all he wanted.


	19. Downfall

**Downfall**

 _Sydney –_

She watched him as he started packing his things away. He'd been reading mostly but had brought a tablet too to sort things out with his Aunt in France. They'd watched a film together to pass the time and played some card games with a bottle of wine.

It was like a normal evening for them beside the fact that they were several miles above ground.

It still made Sydney chuckle a little as she kept having moments of clarity where she realised this was a strange situation they were in.

Vaughn was doing his best to stay calm but she knew his tells and his body language gave his tenseness away like a wailing siren.

She'd tried to stay close to him on the plane and kept reassuring him with a hug or even just a squeeze of his hand. She was more afraid now that he'd turn his anger onto her then however Jack was going to react.

He packed the last couple of items, the envelope with the houses key and his mobile phone. He placed those in his pockets.

She grabbed her chance to get to him and walked up to his face and placed both her hands on his cheeks. He was surprised but he welcomed her embrace.

"Vaughn" she said as they both stared at each other for a moment. He always smiled when she did that.

"You need to relax, ok? We're almost there right? So let's sit down for the last half hour and plan where we're going to eat, ok?" she told him.

He replied by giving her a gentle smile and placing his hands on hers. He squeezed them lightly and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her mouth. It soon turned more passionate as he moved his hands down her back and she leaned closer into him.

The plane drifted over Spain as night time fell and the two lovers enjoyed each other's embrace.

 _Weiss –_

APO was unusually quiet for the afternoon. Jack had been sat in his office staring at his screen for the entire day after this morning's outburst.

Weiss had caught up on a lot of paperwork but was getting bored too easily. There were only so many mission reports he could fill out before having the overwhelming urge to punch a wall.

He decided a walk to the coffee counter might take the edge off his boredom. He noticed as he approached it that Dixon was pouring some steaming water into a cup.

The coffee counter was a social watering hole for them. It was in a prime location as it was hidden from the main floor but was close to the pile of offices.

It had the usual array of coffee and tea and the one kettle with two towering milk jugs. How exactly it all remained fully stocked no matter how much they all drank, remained a mystery to this day.

He smiled to himself as he imagined a tiny man living under the table cloth that kept refilling the coffee jar when people weren't looking.

As Dixon caught sight of Weiss however, he did not return such a smile.

"Weiss? What is it you know about all this?" He asked.

He didn't know exactly what Dixon was talking about so he had an educated guess at first,

"Well I'm guessing there's no super evil bad guy that needs putting in his place today so we're all stuck with paperwork again haha" He delivered his usual cheery tone and even risked a small fist bump to Dixon's shoulder.

Dixon was a respectful man but he did enjoy a good laugh every now and then.

Not today though, it seemed. He looked Weiss in the eye with his coffee now wafting in his face.

"I don't understand why Vaughn and Sydney have left so suddenly. Has something happened? Are they ok? Jack seems awfully tense."

So, it appeared that poor Dixon knew just about as much as he did.

"Oh that. Well Dixon I don't know much but it looks like Jack forced Vaughn out to be honest" Dixon took a deep sip of his coffee and stared down at the floor with his 'thinking face'.

Weiss continued, "And you know those two, Sydney probably felt going with him would ease the hurricane Jack's going to unleash."

At work Sydney and Vaughn always acted professionally and kept their relationship to themselves but it had become clear to the rest of them that they'd started seeing each other again recently and Jack himself did not seem too pleased.

Weiss had practically rejoiced at the news when Vaughn told him. As usual Vaughn didn't tell him much but after spending a few nights with them it was clear they hadn't left where they were four years ago.

Dixon too had spent a couple evenings with everyone playing ridiculous games whilst not too sober. Weiss recalled Dixon telling Sydney that he was glad.

"Good for them." Dixon said eventually, then he left the safety of the coffee counter and returned to his desk, not without giving a quizzing look Jack's way.

 _Ok then._

 _Jack –_

He waited as he listened to the phone dialling over and over. This was the third time she hadn't picked up. He was starting to get angry again.

She was probably up in that plane laughing away about how easy it will be to force Jack into letting them carry on seeing each other. The thought of it made his blood boil.

Finally, she suddenly answered.

"What?" she asked, not pleasantly.

"Sydney, I know you're mad but just hear what I have to say. This is nonsense and you know it. You should both just come back to LA and we can talk this through."

"Or not. Maybe we will stay in France for a bit and wait until you consent to a year guarantee that Vaughn will be keeping his job. In LA, not anywhere else. We're tired of your games Dad and I don't care what you believe about Vaughn and me but I love him and I'm staying right here, on this plane until you start acting like a grown up."

That threw him.

She said she loved him.

The eerie stink of silence rang in the air as Sydney took a breath from her slightly rehearsed response.

Jack did not know how he was supposed to respond at all however. They'd all been trained in the ways of communication and how to approach a danger to society. If Sydney had been a menacing terrorist, Jack would know exactly what to say.

But she was his daughter, and being a father is not something that comes naturally to Jack Bristow.

"Goodbye Jack"

He heard over the phone at last.

"Sydney wait!" – The familiar beep signalling the end of the phone call rang through as he sat and collected his thoughts for a moment.

At least now he knew where he would likely find them.

He picked back up the phone and dialled the foreign office.

"Hello. Yes, Bristow here. A flight to France please, as soon as possible. Thanks".

 _Vaughn –_

Even after all these years she still managed to amaze him.

He stared at her in admiration as they sat with their legs intertwined and scarcely dressed. She put her mobile back on the table in front and leaned back against the chair back with her head only inches away from his.

"What?" she asked him, somewhat rhetorically.

He just smiled, brushing his fingers lightly against her exposed shoulder.

She smiled that gorgeous smile which made his stomach tingle. He was starting to wish they would never get to France. Maybe he could quietly tell the pilot to make a detour and give them a few more moments together in the uninterrupted skies.

"My dad's probably going to take a while to get over my little speech" she joked. Still smiling.

Vaughn reached down and placed his fingers around her chin lightly, he pulled her in for a kiss then lingered a moment before getting out of the chair, reluctantly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly worried.

He put his shirt back on and starting clearing the mess of plates and wine glasses away. He didn't want to ignore her but he was starting to feel anxious again, being only hours away from landing.

As he wrapped up some leftover salad, he watched as Sydney sat upright and placed her shirt back on over her head. She gave him a tempting smile then got up and started helping him clear away.

"Am I mistaken as to thinking you're no longer anxious after what we just did?"

She was distracting him, and it was working.

He laughed then pulled her in for a hug.

"Let's have something hot" he suggested,

"Chamomile perhaps? We should probably catch a little more sleep before we get there".

She nodded and started turning down the lamps within the cabin. After the space was tidied she slipped under a blanket and rested her head against the chairs armrest.

Vaughn placed the cutlery in a little sink by the bar at the front of the plane. However, he couldn't help overhearing the cabin crew muttering.

Usually in a hired jet for a CIA mission there would be at least one crew member per agent plus the pilot, yet as the CIA had not approved this journey, there was only a pilot and one crew member to be of assistance.

Vaughn listened as he heard the crew member sounding irritated –

" _We need to do it soon, why are you waiting!"_

He heard. A turning perhaps? Were they having trouble with the route?

Suddenly, a heavy object slammed into the back of Vaughn's neck. He fell to the floor and his vision blurred but he was still conscious. He looked up to notice the crew had armed himself and was throwing things out of the plane.

What was more worrying however, was the sight of the pilot's cabin door flung open and a dead pilot was thrown out in one swift move. Suddenly, three men surrounded him as he jumped up from the floor and noticed that Sydney was missing.

Well, _maybe I'll get my wish after all._


	20. Inflight entertainment

**Inflight entertainment**

 _Sydney –_

Suddenly, without any warning she was being forced to her feet and dragged towards the back of the plane.

 _What the –_

Before she had chance to realise what was happening, she heard a moan escape from what sounded like Vaughn.

She quickly slapped her brain into action, she needed to get her baring's.

There were two men gripping onto her arms, one pretty skinny and one a tad on the bulky side. The important part,

Both unarmed.

She didn't have to struggle hard to whip her elbow free enough to swing on the skinny guy's side, she swung it hard and felt the smack as it collided with skinny guys jaw.

The small time in which Skinny was hit, he let go of his hold on her arm and Bulky took a moment to be baffled.

She knew the situation well, one smart and one useless but both ultimately not the bouncers their bosses were rooting for.

She quickly delivered a spin kick that gave Skinny a second hit strong enough to knock him down but Bulky had snapped into awareness.

He grabbed her leg and tried to push her down but although he was strong, she managed to get her heel slapped into his groin.

 _Every time, huh._ She smirked, and watched as he pulled back in pain whilst skinny stirred in his rushed slumber.

But she didn't care about them, as long as her arms were free she had other business.

Vaughn appeared a bit battered but the damage was worse to the three men, they too seemed way out of their league here.

 _Strange,_ she thought, _why would they send people not equipped in combat to take out two CIA agents?_

Vaughn shared her puzzled look, but acted hurriedly as he forced a parachute at her chest.

"Vaugh no!" she yelled over the sound of the open hatch. It was far enough away from them to buy them some time before they'd have to get cover.

"You know there's only one parachute on these smaller planes, we need to get this plane flighing smoothly!" she ran past him, throwing the parachute at his knees.

She knew he'd be occupied with the stirring army of idiots aligned on the cabin floor.

Looking at the control panel however, she suddenly lost all her sense of direction.

Vaughn followed her lead with the parachute at hand,

"Sydney, I can get this flight to safety, but there's no point in us both risking our lives" he shouted over the noise as he flicked some switches and sat at the pilots chair.

Sydney immediately sat in the co-pilot's chair and gave him a stubborn glance. _No way, I can fly this plane too._

She started helping Vaughn's efforts to steady the plane but it was hard to take control as the door was still wide open and the engines were started to slow down.

Vaughn suddenly jumped up and grabbed Sydney, quite forcefully by the arm towards the door.

"Go!" he shouted whilst pushing the parachute into her chest once more and giving her a nudge towards the open hatch.

She needed to act before she fell out, it was a useless several seconds before she felt the pull of the air outside.

She strapped the parachute more than quickly securely to her chest and allowed her weight to be shoved out of the plane.

As she descended she felt the anger within her rise and shoot out of her core, it nearly made her lose control of her fall.

 _Vaughn –_

The plane was almost at the ground now but was terribly unstable. He knew that this plane wasn't going to land smoothly so now he had to choose the best way to crash.

Suddenly, the ground slapped hard against the plane bottom which crumbled and splintered across the wasteland of Spain.

Vaughn opened his eyes and saw he was on the ground himself surrounded by the wreckage. His leg stung and as he looked he saw a large splinter of the plane stuck into his flesh.

He knew it'd get worse if he attempted to remove it. He pulled himself up and stood on his good leg. Not too far away, Sydney ran through the wreckage and saw Vaughn lying about a mile away from where she was.

Suddenly, the wreckage was disturbed and an army vehicle pulled up, Vaughn clearly in their view. Sydney held back to avoid being seen, in the hope she could get him out of there undetected.

After a few minutes however, the men from the vehicle had reached Vaughn who was still trapped by the rubble.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Sydney by the arm and covered her mouth. She couldn't react or the men would notice her. She slowly turned to see her attacker.

 _But… how?_


	21. Wrapped up

**AN: Thanks for everyone that's been patient with this one. I've had one hell of a few months so it's been a struggle to get the last few chapters finished. I had no idea where this was going to go so here you are! Hope you like it, sorry for the slow updates xx**

 **Wrapped up**

 _Sydney –_

She stood frozen, if they made a scene now they'd cause attention to themselves. It was hard, incredibly hard, to watch as Vaughn was pulled away into the truck.

There were at least thirty men around, all armed. It was impossible for her to get to him and getting captured too would leave them with no escape route. She hoped desperately that he would agree.

They slowly back out of sight and slipped away quietly away from the crash site and into the dry foliage.

She looked up properly at her father as he stood there now, in front of her with a saddened expression.

After about twenty minutes they decided it was safe to talk.

"So you actually came to get us then, I'm impressed." She kept her stubborn exterior and tone but deep down she was pleased to see him somehow. His presence brought with it an era of calm amongst her boyfriend being dragged into Spanish custody.

He look to the floor, looked at her; and then he broke.

"I love you Sydney, you're my most precious possession." He would have practically cried, if he wasn't the great solid CIA agent that he was.

Taking it in, suddenly he swept his large arms around her and squeezed her gently.

He held it for a minute then pulled back. She didn't know how on earth she was supposed to respond. What kind of sneaky tactic was this?

"Sydney, I almost thought you were amongst that wreckage. It could have been you pulled away just then."

She waited.

She waited some more and now she was sure he was finished she chose to push it.

"What, so now everything is ok now it's Vaughn who will be held in a prison is it?" she remained calm, yet anger had already reunited in her stomach.

This safety he had brought suddenly ran for the hills. He didn't care at all, he just wanted his daughter to be alive. Alive yes, but alright and happy? No bother.

He sighed and she also felt the strain of yet another argument.

"Let's go get him then" He said, but looking to the ground. He'd said it with somewhat disappointment.

That was it, she was done with this.

"I'm going. You can get straight back to America and stay the hell away from us" she told him firmly and began to turn away. She hesitated however, then turned around once more to face him,

"Yes. I said _us._ "

She rubbed it in then turned away to hopefully not see her father for a long while.

 _Jack –_

It hadn't gone well. But she was alive, she was alive and uninjured from the crash.

He called Director Chase who headed APO at the very top. She could get the authority to get Vaughn out, even if it would take a few days.

He knew Sydney couldn't do anything, it only angered him as he watched her stomp away with that annoying determination to be with him.

He did care that Vaughn was ok, but after today's stunt he wasn't surprised that he got what was coming to him.

 _A while later._

 _Vaughn –_

He didn't want to admit it, but he was getting such a headache from his swollen eye. Thankfully the soldiers had been firm with him but had been somehow generous. They'd not held him too tightly and the handcuffs were left behind. He couldn't get out this small cell, but at least he wasn't shackled to the wall.

His head was hurting more and more now though as Sydney had been mouthing off ever since she'd arrived. It'd taken her awhile so he'd figured she'd walked all the way.

She was getting angrier at them as they continued to refuse to let him go. He was under Spanish authority now which meant he could have been the king of France for all they knew and it wouldn't make a difference.

Being honest with himself, he could tell he'd given up at this point. Normally, hearing Sydney arrive and try negotiate would warm him up to hear and even fill him with some hope. But now he just wanted her to shut up.

He wanted the world to shut up and leave him alone.

The last few days had been probably his worse since getting his life back after Lauren. He could count the numerous horrors of those years and yet somehow the last few events were emotionally, nearly as draining.

Was it even worth fighting for her anymore? He wasn't good enough, Jack was right. Sydney needed someone who could be safe and solid, not whimsy and useless. Which was how he felt now.

He needed to escape everything. Maybe a change would solve things after all.

He'd closed his eyes and must have fallen asleep for some time. When he awoke his eye was throbbing but the bruise felt smaller somehow.

He focused his awakened eye sight and saw to his shock that Sydney was standing directly in front of him, _inside the cell._

For a second he panicked, assuming she'd mouthed off to much and got captured too. But then he noticed the door open and a guard lying down on the ground.

He looked at her, really looked. She looked happy to see him but something was definitely wrong.

"Vaughn. We have to go, now" she said calmly. Her soothing voice managed to raise his spirits a bit.

He was still in a blur as at this stage he didn't care what would happen to him. Sydney held his hand and led him out of the small prison. They were in the middle of the wastelands but a plane was just landing.

Whilst it landed, he stole a moment to watch admiringly as Sydney's hair was blown back behind her ears. He stared at her as determination flowed from her being.

She turned to him and looked questioningly at him.

"I love you" he told her. And of course, he meant it.

That was when he finally faded out and suddenly collapsed to the dirty dry earth below him.

 _Back at APO, the next day._

 _Weiss –_

Wow what a strange week.

He did not welcome such silence in the office but it was practically empty since Sydney and Vaughn had returned. They were at home recovering but Jack had suddenly taken leave, which being the _big boss man_ he was granted.

Director Chase kept emerging, assumingly to keep her eye on Sloane as he took a more superior role. Temporarily, we hope.

So ultimately, as he looked over at Dixon and Nadia staring into space, he knew they'd agree, that APO was one massive weird snooze fest.

 _God I hope they come back soon. I need to shoot something._

 _Sydney –_

It was very early in the morning in LA. She'd had another weird dream that night about being in a house in France that was suddenly sucked under the earth.

She didn't give it much thought though, she preferred to continue to lie there for a few wonderful minutes, staring at the man lying next to her.

Jack had given up. He'd seen Vaughn at his worse and saw him as he'd been damaged and saddened by those events. After Sydney telling Jack how her newly broken arm was all for him, that she didn't actually care about the danger she was in taking down several soldiers in Spain – because he needed to get out before he had a complete breakdown. She'd told him.

She moved her eyes along his jawline, his chest as it rose slowly then relaxed back down. His eyes were closed but he suddenly smiled. From this side she couldn't see his bruised eye, for that she was thankful.

"Are you awake?" he asked her, quietly. He looked refreshed but his spirits weren't quite recovered yet.

"No" she answered, smiling at him.

His smile broadened. He opened his eyes and moved his head to look in her direction. She winced as she laid sight upon his swollen eye. It'd had gone down a lot at least. Vaughn moved to prop himself sideways on his arm. He looked at her own arm, covered and supported by a cast. He carefully stroked it and looked warmly at her.

"Don't you dare worry about me," she warned him, but playfully.

"It's my turn to look after you. You're not getting way so easily honey." She told him,

 _Vaughn –_

He loved it when she used pet names for him. 'Honey' was his favourite. He moved his arm from hers and lay back flat on the bed by her side.

They were cocooned in warmth under their winter duvet. He really did not want to move, and for once he did not have to. Well, not for a while yet.

He watched peacefully for a moment as she gazed at him with those enchanting hazel eyes. This could potentially have been a nice ending to such a horrid few days.

Despite them both being battered and bruised now.

"Sydney." He cleared his throat, she looked concerned.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. Nowhere else but beside you." He told her soothingly. He hoped she could believe him now after his ridiculous stunt he had pulled.

Jack was still in shock at it all so for now he'd backed down. It was going to be a long struggle, but now he was secure at APO with Sydney by his side, he had his chance to show just how good he will be to her.

She smiled sweetly and leaned over him to place a warm kiss on his head while cupping his cheeks with her hands. Leaning back again she continued to gently stroke his cheek,

"I'll be here, and now it's my turn to look after you."

She hesitated, wondering what she needed to say, Vaughn gave her a reassuring stroke of her hand with his thumb. They each had their own silent tells like a stroke here or there or a soothing stare, often they said more than words could.

She sighed looking at the bed then looked him straight in the eyes.

"It'll be a lot easier to look after you now you're moving in."

He couldn't believe her words for a second. She hadn't even mentioned it before now.

He did practically live here anyway…

"Syd… Are you sure?" He was still concerned about her fear regarding Lauren and the whole mess of entirety that was Vaughn's biggest mistake.

She didn't even flinch however, she was so stubborn and determined sometimes.

"Your key is by the lamp," she told him, moving away so he could turn over and see the bright key just simply laying there on _his_ bedside table.

It looked so mundane, just a key that seemed to have been there for years. Just sitting there with what was essentially Vaughn's future at hand.

He couldn't prevent the huge smile that pushed itself across his face. He suddenly felt Sydney's arms wrapping around his waist and a kiss pressed against his back while he was turned away.

 _How on earth did I deserve this?_ He pondered, but not for long as soon the two lovers were once again entwining with each other.

A key lying in wait by the bed.

 _It was going to be a long struggle, but now he was secure at APO with Sydney by his side, he had his chance to show just how good he will be to her._

Thanks for reading!


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